Peter Max - 2 1982 World's Fair Lithographs

Updated September 4, 2026

Lot number109
Estimate220.00 - 250.00 USD
CategoryFine Art & Prints
AuctionChicagoland Antiques, Jewelry & Collectibles Auction 09/15
DateSeptember 16, 2026 at 12:36 AM CDT
Auction houseEsquis Auctions
LocationWheeling, Illinois

Pair of colorful Peter Max lithographs created for the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee, from the artist's The Experience of Energy series. The group includes "Cosmic Trapeze" and "Floating," both showcasing Max's immediately recognizable Pop Art aesthetic with bold black outlines, brilliant saturated colors, energetic abstract forms and whimsical figural imagery. "Cosmic Trapeze" depicts a fantastical airborne figure surrounded by floating organic forms against a blue background, while "Floating" presents a dynamic figure moving through a vivid composition of stars, sweeping forms and contrasting fields of red, yellow, green and orange. Both works reflect the optimistic, futuristic theme of the 1982 World's Fair, whose central focus was energy and its role in modern life. Each lithograph bears printed identification in the margin with Peter Max, 1982, the individual title, The Experience of Energy: Series, and New York/Knoxville, Tennessee publication information. Both also display the Peter Max copyright logo and identify him as "The Official Artist of the 1982 World's Fair." Printed in the U.S.A. Good condition with light age and handling wear. Rolled. 24" x 18" each. Peter Max (b. 1937, Germany/United States) is a German-born American artist and graphic designer whose vibrant imagery became closely associated with the Pop Art, counterculture and psychedelic movements of the 1960s and 1970s. After studying art in New York, Max developed a distinctive visual language combining intense color, simplified figures, cosmic imagery, stars, planets and flowing abstract forms. His artwork became widely recognized through posters, album covers, advertising campaigns and other graphic projects, making him one of the most recognizable American popular artists of his generation. Over the course of his career, Max was commissioned for numerous major public and cultural projects, including artwork connected with the Statue of Liberty, sporting events and national celebrations. In 1982, he served as the Official Artist of the World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee, creating imagery that complemented the exposition's theme of energy and technological progress.

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