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THE BEATLES ARTISTIC TO THE PETER MAX

John Lennon by Peter Max

Many people do not realize that Peter Max, the celebrated pop artist, was approached by the Beatles to be involved with the Yellow Submarine film project. John Lennon had called him directly to work on the project. However, the project would require his committing to be in Europe for a 17-month period which he was not willing to do. It was Peter Max who recommended that Heinz Edelmann take the reins.

Much of this story is provided at the Park West Gallery link shown below. The link below provides a photo of the Peter Max piano that Ringo signed for him and it also discloses/ reveals that Heinz Edelmann’s business cards identified him as the “German Peter Max.” This may help to explain why many people were convinced that Peter had been involved with Yellow Submarine’s production. Edelmann’s work on Yellow Submarine certainly had similar properties to Peter Max’s artistic style. Peter Max and The Beatles: Friends, Artists, Icons of the 1960s (parkwestgallery.com)

In 2002, New Life Magazine asked Peter Max to do the four Beatles as separate covers for their magazine. Each issue featured a pull-out poster of the issue’s respective Beatle. Finding all four of these issues is not easy and usually is expensive. Luckily, I was able to obtain a set at a very reasonable cost on eBay. Sometimes the price that you pay on eBay is being fortunate to be at the right place at the right time.

Here are the four New Life Beatles covers with the Peter Max design:

The Beatles and Peter Max
John Lennon on New Life by Peter Max
Paul McCartney on New Life
Paul McCartney on New Life by Peter Max
George Harrison on New Life
George Harrison on New Life by Peter Max
Ringo Starr on New Life by Peter Max
Ringo Starr on New Life by Peter Max

My Peter Max signature in one of the books concerning his artwork:

Peter Max signature
Peter Max Signature
The Art of Peter Max
The Art of Peter Max

When Ringo Starr visited Peter Max in his studio, he signed the music stand on Peter’s piano:

Ringo's signature to Peter Max
Ringo’s signature to Peter Max

Hope you like these covers?

Buzz

More Artwork at The Beatles Bookstore

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