Peter Max, whose colorful, psychedelic pop art was a key part of the culture in the 1960s, has died at age 88

Peter Max, whose colorful, psychedelic pop art expressed the optimism of the "flower power" movement of the 1960s, has died at 88, his son said. Peter Max, whose colourful, psychedelic pop art expressed the optimism of the “flower power” movement of the 1960s, has died at 88. NEW YORK (AP) — Peter Max, whose colorful, psychedelic pop art expressed the optimism of the “flower power” movement of the 1960s and graced everything from postage stamps to a cruise ship, has died at 88, his son said in a written statement Wednesday.Max died on Monday, the statement said.

No cause was given.Max began his career in graphic design in the 1960s, and his swirly, colorful, instantly recognizable designs epitomized the era’s “flower power” art. But thanks to his prolific output and fun, accessible style, Max’s work remained well known and popular well into the 21st century.Max was the official artist for the Olympics, the Super Bowl, the Indianapolis 500, the World Cup, the World Series and many other events. His art appeared on a Boeing 777 airplane and a Norwegian Cruise Line ship.

His portrait subjects ranged from U.S. presidents to Taylor Swift.But in his first flush of success in the late 1960s and early 1970s, his murallike tableaus of flowers, the cosmos and cartoonish figures — all in vivid colors like turquoise, orange and neon green — seemed to be everywhere. Dorm room walls were plastered with his posters.

Household furnishings like clocks and bedspreads sported his designs.He even created covers for the Manhattan Yellow Pages, a business phone directory distributed to millions of people. Max himself was featured on the cover of Life magazine in 1969, his trademark dark, bushy mustache framing a hearty grin.“We will remember his extraordinary creativity, his warmth, his curiosity, and the way he saw beauty and possibility everywhere,” his son Adam Max said in the statement announcing the death. “His art became part of American culture, but the man behind that art — the father we knew and loved — is the person we will miss most.”Family fled Nazi GermanyMax was born Peter Max Finkelstein in 1937 to a Jewish family in Berlin.

They fled Nazi Germany for Shanghai when he was a baby and later spent time in Tibet, Israel and Paris before settling in New York City when Max was 16. By then, he said in an interview, he was already “a huge fan of American culture”: comics, movies and “all the jazz music.”Max studied in New York at the Art Students League, the School of Visual Arts and Pratt Institute. In 1961, he opened a graphic design studio with friends.

His bold, unique style was an immediate hit with ad agencies, publications, the corporat… Max died on Monday, the statement said. Max began his career in graphic design in the 1960s, and his swirly, colorful, instantly recognizable designs epitomized the era’s “flower power” art.