70s Pop Artist Peter Max is in an Abusive Conservatorship; Family Begs for Help
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Peter Max, an iconic artist whose psychedelic works ruled the 60s and 70s (as well as designs for the 2006 Olympics and the 2000 Subway Series between the Yankees and Mets), is in an involuntary and abusive conservatorship, according to his daughter Libra. The 83-year-old has suffered from Alzheimer’s for the past decade. Libra attended several #FreeBritney protests to bring attention to her father's situation.
Peter, whose works hang in the Museum of Modern Art, was placed under guardianship in 2016 because of alleged mistreatment by his wife Mary, who committed suicide in 2019 at the age of 52.
Libra shared that she can only see her dad- who now barely weighs 100 pounds and is overmedicated- three times a week for an hour under strict supervision on a public park bench in Riverside Park. She is prohibited from entering her childhood home on the Upper West Side, where her father lives in complete isolation.
• Max's family have said in a letter signed by Libra, as well as other family members, friends and supporters:
"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.
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."
• Libra filed a petition against her brother, Adam - who shares ownership of their father’s art company with her - in 2017. Adam has accused his sister in 2019 of a hostile takeover of the company, and his name is absent from the letter.
• Libra has said her father has been begging to be released to the care of his family.
• Health care proxy family members are allegedly no longer privy to his medical information.
• Libra shares family members have to submit formal written request even for time limited, surveilled visitation with Peter. Friends must sign an NDA before addressing him.
• Libra claims her dad has to ask for permission to call his family and friends, and Peter's conservators gave away his beloved cats.
• Peter is allegedly under 24-hour camera and phone surveillance and involuntary daylong isolation, and cannot visit his own art studio. His phone has also been confiscated.
• Libra has pointed out that about 1.3 million Americans are in guardianships and conservatorships in the United States. While some guardians represent their wards' best interests, many might have more sinister motives since $50 billion are in the care of conservators.
• At a protest in New York, Libra said in part: "When you are put into guardianship, all of your estate planning is voided. All of your documentation is voided. Your human rights are voided. Your constitutional rights are voided. You have less rights than a convicted felon! ...My father escaped the Holocaust. He came to this country as a teenage immigrant with nothing. He started from nothing. He believed in the American dream. And because he achieved the American dream, it has now made him a target."
• The law office of Phillips Nizer LLP said in a statement:
"Phillips Nizer is providing legal services to a client as ordered and approved by the New York State Supreme Court. We serve this client, as we do all of our clients, in accordance with our professional and ethical responsibilities as attorneys.
The claims made by Libra Max and her allies are demonstrably false and defamatory to our firm and attorneys. We will address this at the appropriate time and in the appropriate forum.
Due to the sensitive nature of guardianship proceedings, and pursuant to the duty of privilege that we owe to our clients, we will not offer any further comments at this time."
https://www.freepetermax.com/
Sources: one, two, three, four
Peter Max, an iconic artist whose psychedelic works ruled the 60s and 70s (as well as designs for the 2006 Olympics and the 2000 Subway Series between the Yankees and Mets), is in an involuntary and abusive conservatorship, according to his daughter Libra. The 83-year-old has suffered from Alzheimer’s for the past decade. Libra attended several #FreeBritney protests to bring attention to her father's situation.
Peter, whose works hang in the Museum of Modern Art, was placed under guardianship in 2016 because of alleged mistreatment by his wife Mary, who committed suicide in 2019 at the age of 52.
Libra shared that she can only see her dad- who now barely weighs 100 pounds and is overmedicated- three times a week for an hour under strict supervision on a public park bench in Riverside Park. She is prohibited from entering her childhood home on the Upper West Side, where her father lives in complete isolation.
• Max's family have said in a letter signed by Libra, as well as other family members, friends and supporters:
"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.
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."
• Libra filed a petition against her brother, Adam - who shares ownership of their father’s art company with her - in 2017. Adam has accused his sister in 2019 of a hostile takeover of the company, and his name is absent from the letter.
• Libra has said her father has been begging to be released to the care of his family.
• Health care proxy family members are allegedly no longer privy to his medical information.
• Libra shares family members have to submit formal written request even for time limited, surveilled visitation with Peter. Friends must sign an NDA before addressing him.
• Libra claims her dad has to ask for permission to call his family and friends, and Peter's conservators gave away his beloved cats.
• Peter is allegedly under 24-hour camera and phone surveillance and involuntary daylong isolation, and cannot visit his own art studio. His phone has also been confiscated.
• Libra has pointed out that about 1.3 million Americans are in guardianships and conservatorships in the United States. While some guardians represent their wards' best interests, many might have more sinister motives since $50 billion are in the care of conservators.
• At a protest in New York, Libra said in part: "When you are put into guardianship, all of your estate planning is voided. All of your documentation is voided. Your human rights are voided. Your constitutional rights are voided. You have less rights than a convicted felon! ...My father escaped the Holocaust. He came to this country as a teenage immigrant with nothing. He started from nothing. He believed in the American dream. And because he achieved the American dream, it has now made him a target."
• The law office of Phillips Nizer LLP said in a statement:
"Phillips Nizer is providing legal services to a client as ordered and approved by the New York State Supreme Court. We serve this client, as we do all of our clients, in accordance with our professional and ethical responsibilities as attorneys.
The claims made by Libra Max and her allies are demonstrably false and defamatory to our firm and attorneys. We will address this at the appropriate time and in the appropriate forum.
Due to the sensitive nature of guardianship proceedings, and pursuant to the duty of privilege that we owe to our clients, we will not offer any further comments at this time."
https://www.freepetermax.com/
Sources: one, two, three, four