Artists, musicians, pop art lovers and Sinatra fans gathered at the private studio of artist Peter Max for the unveiling of 47 new paintings of Frank Sinatra in celebration of the centennial of Sinatra’s birth.
The evening started in a tiny elevator crammed between Tony Danza and a guy who introduced himself as simply “Frank’s hairdresser” who laughed about a shared story from days past. That hairdresser is Joseph Paris, also known as the Toupee Titan. From that moment, we knew it would be one of those New York Moment kinds of night.
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Exiting the tiny elevator, guests were let into the large loft-like studio space. The expected whitewalls were covered with works by Peter Max, the majority being the Sinatra pieces. Also around the space was a life-sized Peter Max painted cow, a colorful baby grand signed by Ringo Starr, a painted guitar made for Jon Bon Jovi and many painted variations of the State of Liberty.
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Nancy Sinatra greeting Tony Danza created quite the photo op, which doubled when Peter Max joined the pair. They made it a family affair when Frank Sinatra’s granddaughter Amanda Erlinger, who is an artist and photographer in her own right, and Max’s daughter, Libra, joined the group.
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Guests, who all seem to have some real of imagined history with the Sinatra or Max family, wove their way through the studio to see the vast collection of Sinatra inspired paintings. The mixed media paintings take iconic portraits surround Sinatra in the vibrant splashes of color Max is known for. Early in the night a couple of paintings were already marked with the “sold” red dot including a large piece of a young Elvis and Sinatra. In case you were wondering, a Peter Max Sinatra painting will set you back a minimum of $45,000.
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Served at the event was the Jack Daniel’s Sinatra Select Whiskey and Italian fare from one of Sinatra’s favorite restaurants, Patsy’s.
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The Sinatra paintings will move to New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center at Lincoln Center for the multimedia showcase “Sinatra: An American Icon” on March 4.
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Curated by the GRAMMY Museum of Los Angeles in collaboration with The Library for the Performing Arts and the Sinatra Family, the free exhibition will also include never-before-seen photos, family mementos, rare correspondence, personal items, artwork and recordings. The exhibit runs though September 4, 2015
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Seen at the event was Steven Van Zant and his wife Maureen, The Real House Wives of New Jersey’s Danny Provenzo, Ali Lohan and her father Michael, music journalist Liz Derringer and actor Vincent De Paul.
