2018 AGS Magazine

Monteleone Stingray
parallels. The craft of guitar-making and the
painting of Peter Maier are no different - there are
many interesting parallels and connections. Maier
is recognized as one of the greatest living realist
painters. His name is rightfully mentioned with realist
masters like Vermeer and Rembrandt as well
as with American legends such as Winslow Homer,
Thomas Eakins, and Edward Hopper. In the
world of guitar making, similar
comparisons are being made
to another time in history.
Much like Maier and the realist
masters, names like D’Angelico,
D’Aquisto, and Monteleone
are now mentioned along with
the names of master violin
makers Stradavari, Amati, and
Guarneri.
The work that Peter has undertaken
recently is particularly
interesting. He has embarked
on an anthology of paintings
referred to as the Celebrity
Series. It is interesting to note
that the first paintings in the
Celebrity Series were created
long before Peter developed
the concept of a collection
featuring celebrity images and
icons. Just as interesting is that
the series includes both animate
and inanimate subjects.
It is easy to appreciate his
paintings for the diversity they represent and to
fully grasp the span of his amazing career. The
paintings 1959 Stingray, American Pharoah, and
1969 (Easy Rider) are examples of works created
before the “celebrity” concept was developed.
Recent subjects presented in the Celebrity Series
include historic baby boom generation icons Bob
Dylan, Willy Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, Mick
Jagger, Andy Warhol, Keith Richards, Janis Joplin,
and Jimi Hendrix. These are among an elite group
of pop idols who greatly influenced and shaped a
generation. Many of the subjects presented in the
Peter Maier Celebrity Series represent the cultural
influence of the guitar on the world. Guitar makers
working today have made their instruments functional
works of art. In the Celebrity Series, Peter
Maier has captured the ambassadors who have
brought that art to the world.
In 1965, Maier subject Bob Dylan went “electric”
at the Newport Folk Festival where he
performed a rock-and-roll set publicly for the very
first time to a litany of shouts and boos from an
obviously perturbed audience. Dylan changed the
music world in many respects on that day. Another
Maier subject, Willie Nelson, has been playing
a much-loved and universally recognized C.F. Martin
& Co. nylon-stringed N-20 named Trigger for
more than 45 years. C.F. Martin & Co. has been a
force in guitar making since 1833 and has literally
shaped an industry.
Among the most recognizable instruments in
the world is a 1950s Fender Esquire played by
Maier subject Bruce Springsteen. Also bringing
the Leo Fender name to the forefront of American
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