Family members of ailing Pop Art icon Peter Max are calling for an end to a court-appointed guardianship they say controls “all aspects of his life.”
The 83-year-old, whose brightly colored psychedelic paintings were extremely popular in the 1960s, has suffered from Alzheimer’s for the past decade. But some family members now say that the attorneys responsible for the wealthy artist are siphoning his money while keeping him under lock and key.
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| American Illustrator and graphic artist Peter Max unveils his Paul McCartney Portrait Series at the Peter Max Studio on June 18, 2012 in New York City. (Simon Russell/Getty Images) |
“The guardianship has depleted his hard-earned life’s earnings by over $16 million, with millions being paid, without his permission, to the court-appointed guardians and attorneys who now control all aspects of his life,” reads a letter demanding an end to the guardianship signed by his daughter, Libra Max, as well as other family members, friends and supporters.
“Since 2019, Peter’s family and friends have been privately waging a legal battle to free Peter from his involuntary isolation at the hands of strangers; restore to him his dignity; and allow him to be surrounded by loved ones at the end of his life,” the letter says.
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| Peter Max Art Exhibit on February 13, 1992 at Hanson Gallery in Beverly Hills, California. (Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty) |
For decades, Max’s art has been ubiquitous and his lifestyle decadent — he was on the cover of Time magazine in 1969 with the headline “Portrait of the Artist as a Very Rich Man.” He made designs for the 2006 Olympics as well as the 2000 Subway Series between the Yankees and Mets.
The publicity blitz by Max’s family members comes amid growing concerns about abuse of the guardianship process. Britney Spears grabbed international headlines when she said she felt “enslaved” by an “abusive” conservatorship that she has been unable to escape since mental health crises in 2007 and 2008.
Max’s guardianship appears to be complicated by a family dispute.
Libra Max filed a petition against her brother, Adam Max — who shares ownership of their father’s art company with her — in 2017.
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| Artist Peter Max attends Gotham Magazine Celebrates its Summer Issue with Peter Max and The Humane Society of the United States at Loews Regency Hotel on June 25, 2014 in New York City. (Ben Gabbe) |
Adam Max, meanwhile, accused his sister in 2019 of a hostile takeover of the company.
Click here to sign the family's letter requesting Peter's freedom
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