Peter Max’s female profiles are among his most famous signature icons, emerging from his sketches as early as 1967. In ‘Friends,’ the artist’s minimalist, calligraphic brushwork, rendering the profiles, is reminiscent of Matisse. The fluid profile lines are met with an expressionistic flourish of brushstrokes, intense color, and floral swirls crowning the figures, their eyes sultry and half-closed, content in their companionship and setting. The artist surrounds the friends with textural, contour brushwork of wet-on-wet, mixed-on-the-brush color, creating energy and movement around their calm. ©ALP, Inc.