Peter Max, friend of the White House Fellows Program, dies at age 88
In 1995, Peter Max painted a White House portrait and produced a poster for the 30th Anniversary of the White House Fellows program.
Below is a memory from Janet Abrams, White House Fellows Class of 1994-95:
I met Peter Max in November of my Fellowship year, 1994. I was assigned to the White House Office of Communications, and it was a quiet Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving. My desk phone rang, and the WH Operator asked if I would speak with a gentleman who’d identified himself as the painter Peter Max and requested to meet with someone on staff about creating art for the President. I knew the name, thought it strange that he’d shown up at the OEOB without an appointment, but was curious to meet the artist behind so many images in our pop culture. So, I went down to the Secret Service checkpoint and met Peter and his manager Gene. Peter explained that he had painted for every President since JFK and wanted to be of service to President. Clinton. I quickly thought of the project I was working on in the Communications Office: organizing the first Summit of the Americas to be convened by the President in Miami in early December. Every democratically elected leader in the Hemisphere was set to attend. We had no particular graphic image for the conference, so I suggested to Mr. Max that he might do something in his colorful style for that.
The next week, I introduced Peter to Mack McLarty, counselor to the President and coordinator for the Summit, and a flurry of activity ensued, with Peter producing a bright image of a globe on a black background, with our hemisphere highlighted. This was reproduced as the official poster for the December event.
The speed with which Peter and his team responded to the opportunity was stunning. It was a privilege to work alongside them to create the artwork that commemorated the historic event. I kept thinking: Only in the White House Fellows Program could I have an experience like this!
When we wrapped up the project for the Summit, Peter and Gene expressed appreciation for the opportunity, extending an open invitation for me to visit them in NYC. A couple months into 1995, I wrote to say my WHF Class would be coming to the Big Apple for a few days in April, and Peter and Gene offered to host a reception for us during our visit. My Classmates said YES, and we had a fascinating, fun time at the Peter Max Studio. During the event, Peter asked me to explain the history of the White House Fellowship. I gave an overview, and he queried: “How can I be closer to the White House Fellows?” My mind leapt to the 30th-Anniversary celebration that the alumni were planning for May. I suggested the event might benefit from a dash of Peter Max flare. He replied simply: “I’ll do it.” and then said goodnight.
I wasn’t sure what Peter was promising, but he delivered! Over the following week, I had my second chance work with Peter and team. The creation was a brilliantly colored image of the White House. Peter arranged for us (the WHFFA) to have the canvas, and this was reproduced as posters that have since been given to all Fellows at the conclusion of their year. Peter attended the 30th Anniversary party held at at the US Capitol and autographed posters for everyone one there. I recall proudly introducing my father and brother to Peter and working with Jack LeCuyer to prepare the posters for distribution.
Peter was an artist and an entrepreneur who helped shaped the pop-culture aesthetic of the 1960s and well beyond. His drive to be associated with the White House and other major red-white-&-blue institutions was, I sensed, not just about building his own brand or selling art — though he was masterful at those things. He loved America and understood what the Nation had given him. Peter’s family – of Jewish heritage – escaped Berlin in the late 1930s to Shanghai. Peter spent his childhood there and then in Israel. The family arrived in the United States, settling in Brooklyn, when Peter was in his mid-teens. Initially drawn to astronomy, Peter began his art studies after high school and quickly developed his signature style, described in his New York Times obituary as “blissed out exuberance” and “infectiously happy.”
In Jewish tradition, we say, “May his memory be a blessing.” I’m uplifted by my memories of Peter, grateful for the opportunity to have known him, and hope all Fellows feel the blessing of Peter’s artistry, energy, and love of country when they gaze upon the White House image he created for us.
Below is a memory from Jack LeCuyer, White House Fellows Class of 1977-78:
We can remember Peter Max not only for the colorful artistry he brought to our 30th Anniversary celebration but also for his generosity. He gifted the painting of the White House and 1,000 prints (or posters produced from the painting) to the WHFFA. Initially, he permitted our organization to charge $50 for an autographed poster as a part of our fundraising efforts in 1996. Subsequently, each year, he would sign a poster for each “graduating Fellow” to be presented at the end of the Fellowship year. He did not charge the WHFFA for the painting, posters, autographs, or storage of the posters. That practice endured until the late 2000’s, when, by common agreement, he sent the remaining posters to the WHFFA for distribution to each graduating Class — a practice that continues to this day.
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