Max Price was born in Brooklana, eastern Dorrigo, and grew up there and in the Coffs Harbour area. He attended high school in Coffs Harbour, 1938-1940. He was a Navy Cadet, joining the Australian Army in 1942. In 1947, Max married Eleanor Watson. Between 1946-1953 he farmed Glenrose in Brooklana. In 1953 he moved to the Richmond area with his family and farmed at Teven, then Boat Harbour and finally at Ruthven.

Max had sketched and painted from childhood. He worked in watercolour, taking up oil painting in the 1960s. He won a number of Lismore exhibitions in the 1960s and 1970s. Max started selling many paintings during the 1960s-1980s at the Big Banana Gallery and Art Studio/Cafe.