In addition to very personal letters, the auction will also include photographs from a private album PattyBoydher drawings, graphics, paintings and clothes – a total of 111 items.
When Pattie Boyd was still married to one of The Beatlesbecame the object of affection of another famous artist, Eric Clapton (check!). This one, although he knew that he could jeopardize his friendship with George Harrisonwhom Boyd married in 1966, could no longer hide his feelings and in the spring of 1970 he wrote her a letter.
“Dearest L., I am writing you this letter to know your feelings on an issue that is well known to both of us. I want to ask you, do you still love your husband? I know that all these questions are very impertinent, but if there is still something in your heart any feeling for me, you have to let me know,” Clapton wrote to his beloved.
This letter is one of those that will be auctioned, and its value has been estimated at between PLN 10,000. and 15 thousand pounds.
The addressee initially thought that the letter was a confession from a fan. The matter became clear when Clapton called her that same day. “He called to make sure I had received any correspondence from him. From then on, I kept the letter in a box with various trinkets. It is a very beautifully written letter, but it is so small that it does not even take up a third of the page. It looks as if he was ashamed of it. write as if it were a whisper, not a conversation,” the model recalls in an interview with Christie’s auction house.
She added that Clapton, seeing the problems in her and Harrison’s marriage, had long encouraged her to leave her husband and run away, but she was not willing to make such a sacrifice. She decided to stay married. Still carried by unfulfilled feelings, Clapton wrote a song for Boyd “Layla”. She herself was afraid that when the song saw the light of day, it would become clear to her husband who the title character was. But Clapton didn’t want to wait until the song was released. The same day he presented the song to his beloved, he confessed to his friend at a party that he had feelings for his wife.
However, he had to wait several more years for their fulfillment. Boyd did not think about leaving her husband, Clapton wrote more love letters. Only when the marriage of the Beatle and the model ended in 1977 did she decide to give Clapton a chance. The couple got married in 1979 and their relationship lasted 10 years. However, the three remained close friends, with Harrison even calling Clapton his “husband”.
This extraordinary story is contained in a collection that will go under the hammer on March 8. In addition to Clapton’s love letters, interested parties will also be able to bid on postcards and letters that Harrison wrote to his wife, as well as a Christmas card painted by him, valued at between PLN 3,000 and PLN 5,000. pounds. Collectors will also be able to purchase paintings by Harrison and Clapton, as well as Boyd clothes and jewelry.
The model explained that the decision to part with these items and donate them to the auction was a cathartic process. “I thought, do I really need them? Do I have to keep opening this Pandora’s box? I really liked them for many years, but now it’s time for others to see them,” she admitted.
Auction items will be available for viewing at Christie’s in London from March 15 to 21.