Maxwell Hayslette

MAXWELL HAYSLETTE, a prolific and popular American artist, died peacefully in Poulsbo, WA., on December 21, 2024. He was 95+. In a career spanning more than seven decades, Max achieved international recognition as a landscape and abstract painter, print maker and bon vivant. His work is represented in more than 1000 private, corporate and public collections worldwide.
Max was born in 1929 in Rupert, WV, the only child of Ellis Hayslette, a coal miner, and Lolita (Shafer) Hayslette, a house cleaner. Raised on the fringes of poverty, he was able to parlay a genial spirit, strong will and natural artistic talent into success in high school, where he achieved the honor of class valedictorian,
The precocious teen experienced his first commercial artistic success when a local physician, Dr. Theodore Milliman, purchased all 50 watercolors that Max was exhibiting at a local furniture store. Recognizing that Max's parents could not afford to send their son to art school, Dr. Milliman agreed to cover Max's tuition on the condition that Max "pay-forward" this kindness to future struggling artists, if ever able. Max was to fulfill this condition many times over.
Max graduated from the American Academy of Art in Chicago in 1951 and pursued post-graduate study at the Art Institute of Chicago. He was deeply influenced by the Bauhaus art movement and later, abstract expressionism.
In 1953, while stationed with the U.S. Army at Fort Meade, MD, Max met Don Sederholm, his "boss" in the base typing pool. Romance blossomed, and a life-long partnership was born.
Post graduation, Max took a position and excelled as a designer for many noteworthy commercial projects. In 1962, he moved to Seattle to join Berg Craftsman as a partner, where he designed exhibits for the Seattle World's Fair (1962), the New York World's Fair (1964), Expo '67 in Montreal, and the Spokane World's Fair (1974) and multiple prestigious projects, including the interiors of the ill-fated Boeing SST interior cabins. His designs won numerous awards and best-of-show citations.
In 1973, Max, with partner Don, made a life changing decision to become a full- time artist with the founding of Olympus Graphics on Bainbridge Island. With Max as the lead artist, Olympus produced large silkscreen prints for corporate markets. In 1976, on a chance meeting with Larry Winn, a young Seattle art publisher in need of talent, everything changed. Winn immediately recognized Max's talent; so, with Winn's marketing and distribution capabilities, it would be a successful venture. Per his norm, Max took a leap of faith and placed all publishing, sales, and distribution in Winn's hands. The venture was extraordinarily successful with Max achieving gallery representation throughout North America and achieving significant success in the sales of his paintings and prints throughout the decades.
When asked about working with Max, Winn replied "There was no "working" with Max. Discussions about art and the work at hand were brief. The dining, the travel, the friendship, that's what was important to Max. And it all worked."
Max loved Winston Churchill's oratory, Dorothy Parker's quips and martinis. His "Martini's with Max" gala events large drew crowds to his art openings. While achieving a large collector base with scores of sellout shows, Max' proudest moment was showing at the 2003 Florence Biennale Invitational.
In 2011, Max was named a Distinguished West Virginian by the governor of that state. In a 2012 interview with the Kitsap Daily News, Max responded "A long dance between memory and imagination is the root from which my images grow".
In 2013 shortly after Washington State legalized same-sex marriage Max and Don were married in Kitsap County. Don died in 2021. Max's remaining paintings may be found through his dear friend, Carrie Goller's gallery in Poulsbo.
The Max Hayslette Fine Art & Archive Collection is housed at West Virginia University, Morgantown campus. Curated by university historian John Cuthbert, the collection includes a wide variety of Max's oils, watercolors, prints, personal papers, articles and more than 20 hours of oral-history interviews. Max's Wikipedia bio offers a fuller portrait of his life and art. A brief, enlightening video entitled "Max Hayslette at Work" can be found in the external links section. for further details visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Hayslette
Donations may be made to the Martha and Mary Health and Rehab Center in Poulsbo, where Max, spent his final years. Donate at: https://www.kitsapgreatgive.org/organization/martha-mary