Max Shertz (March 25, 1933 – October 15, 2009) was an American artist, painter, sculptor, writer, poet, and teacher. Shertz is known for his «Art of the Unconscious» style of abstract expressionism. His works are displayed and collected by museums, public institutions, and collectors. In protest against the commercialization of the art world, Shertz was reclusive for the last 25 years of his life, and the work Shertz produced during those years has not been released to the public.Shertz was born in Brooklyn, to parents who married young and divorced when he was 5 years old. Shertz's maternal family was musically gifted: his great grandfather, Professor Gottlieb, and his seven children formed a classical ensemble performing all over Europe and in New York.
Shertz demonstrated an unusual artistic talent at an early age. At 17 Shertz joined the Marines. After returning from Korea, he studied at the New York Art Students League, where he apprenticed under, and was influenced by, Hans Hofmann and Raphael Soyer, who would later become his close friend. Shertz then moved to Hollywood, where he lived with his uncle, neurosurgeon Daniel Weller, and Weller's wife, columnist writer Helen and sister of Herman Hoover, owner of Ciro's, the famous night club of the 1940s and 1950s. While in Hollywood Shertz worked as an agent and television actor. In 1956 Shertz met his first wife, Edith Tunik (Edi), and they had four children: Marla, Dana, Joshua and Nilda. Disillusioned with show business and drawn to his first love, art, Shertz left Hollywood to devote himself to painting. During that time he apprenticed with the artist Boris Deutsch.

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