Envelopes I
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From 1980 to 1985, Clayton Lewis created well over 1000 pieces of envelope art, mostly sent to his mother, Rose Baldwin (1894-1986), in the final years of her life. While they had always been close, he felt particularly frustrated that he wasn’t able to contribute more to her financial needs. This was especially important since she lived at an assisted care facility, in Port Townsend, Washington. Therefore, since he was low on funds and wanted to uplift her spirits, he sent her his spontaneous, thoughtful, and often joyful creations, sometimes between four and five days a week.
After finishing each letter, he would row across Tomales Bay to the Marshall Post Office and before sending them through the mail, he would ask the post mistress to carefully stamp the envelope exactly where he wanted it, so that the stamp would be incorporated into his envelope painting. In addition, to preserve each image, Clayton would typically photograph the envelopes before sending them through the mail. Yet when he wasn’t up to rowing, he would also make the trip to Inverness, twelve miles away by car, and send his creations off at the Post Office, there.
Once they reached Port Townsend, Clayton’s brother, Phillip, would show up, collect them, and then send them back to his brother. He also often photographed them.
When asked in an interview with the Port Townsend Leader what her friends might think of the envelopes, Rosie replied, “I don’t ask them. One (envelope) was a little bit on the nude side. The woman who distributes the mail, she would like to have had a fit,” chuckles Rose. “But I didn’t say anything.” In reference to their correspondence, she elaborated, “He did it for fun to amuse me. The strange thing is that it became profitable.”
It’s important to note that while the art on the envelopes has since received a significant amount of recognition, the letters inside often either read like poetry or articulate stories.
“The letters became paintings, strange, powerful, and humorous.”
Les Envelopes De Clayton Lewis
By Catherine David, Le Nouvel Observateur, Paris, France
June 29, 1984
Permanent Collections: Los Angeles County Art Museum; French Postal Museum, Paris; and the California Historical Society, San Francisco; as well as many private collections.
Three Quotes and a Story