Pattie Boyd is planning to sell letters from her notorious love triangle with guitarist Eric Clapton and Beatles legend George Harrison – saying she finds them ‘heartbreaking’ to read back.
The 1960s model and muse, who was the inspiration for both musicians, said she has Clapton’s permission for the auction of the love letters.
She famously captured the hearts of two of the leading voices of her time, inspiring Harrison’s Beatles classic, Something, and Clapton’s Wonderful Tonight and Layla.
Boyd, the daughter of a retired RAF bomber pilot, wed Harrison in 1966 but the marriage lasted just under 10 years. In that time, she was pursued by his friend Clapton – who expressed his love for her in letters.
The model eventually went on to marry the guitarist in 1979 and they both remained close with her ex-husband, but divorced in 1988.
Model Pattie Boyd is planning to sell letters from her notorious love triangle with guitarist Eric Clapton and Beatles legend George Harrison. Pictured are Eric Clapton and Pattie Boyd in 1993
The 1960s model and muse, who was the inspiration for both musicians, said she has Clapton’s permission for the auction of the love letters. Harrison and Boyd in 1966
Eric Clapton and Pattie Boyd seen at Mick Jagger’s 39th Birthday Party, 1982
Some of the letters from Harrison are penned in a more down to earth manner
The full sale will be on public view at Christie’s headquarters in London from 15 to 21 March
A four-time Vogue cover-girl, Boyd is widely regarded as rock’s most legendary muse
Boyd, now 79, told the newspaper: ‘I’ve had them all for so many years – far too long.’
A portrait of Pattie Boyd by Eric Swayne that featured on the cover of her book My Life
The earliest letter, written by Clapton, is dated 1970 when Boyd was still married to Harrison. It asks if she still loves her husband and asks if she has another lover.
He goes on to acknowledge that his words are ‘impertinent’ but adds: ‘If there is still a feeling in your heart for me, you must let me know.’
At first, she mistook it as a letter from a fan, as it was signed only with ‘all my love, E’.
But her real admirer called her that evening to expose his identity.
Written several months later on a torn out title-page from Of Mice and Men, a second letter expressed Clapton’s sorrow that she remained with her husband.
Boyd, now 79, told the newspaper: ‘I’ve had them all for so many years – far too long’
The model eventually went on to marry the guitarist in 1979 and they both remained close with her ex-husband, but divorced in 1988
Artwork for the cover of Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs will lead the sale, with an estimated price of between £40,000 and £60,000
Waxing lyrical, the letter lists all that he would ‘sacrifice’ for her and signs off with a drawing of a heart.
Boyd described the correspondence as ‘desperate and passionate’ but reading them makes her ‘terribly sad’ as she told the Telegraph why she is selling them.
But correspondence to Boyd from her husband Harrison, sent from the Plaza Hotel in New York in 1971, is much more to the point.
He asks her to give him a call, talks about shopping, grilled cheese sandwiches and that he misses her.
A Polaroid taken by Boyd of Eric Clapton, estimated to fetch £1,200
The Telegraph reported that each letter is estimated to fetch between £10,000 and £15,000 at auction.
Also being sold is a ‘so gentle, so sweet’ drawing by Harrison of himself beneath an apple tree – expected to be sold for between £3,000 and £5,000.
Artwork for the cover of Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs will lead the sale, with an estimated price of between £40,000 and £60,000.
Clapton bought the painting in France because he thought the woman resembled Boyd – acquiring it from the artist Fransden De Schomberg’s son. After she left Harrison, Clapton gifted him the painting.
And when she and Clapton split up, Harrison gave it back to her, she said.
Boyd became a photographer after giving up modelling
A photograph taken by Boyd during the Beatles’ stay at Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s ashram
She remained friends with the music legend until he passed away in 2001, and her favourite item in the sale is a photograph of the pair standing in the garden of their Surrey home. The picture is estimated to go for between £4,000 and £5,000.
A drawing by George Harrison depicting himself sitting under an apple tree
Reminiscing, she said Harrison would always be thinking of music, even in his sleep, as ‘his toes would be tapping’ as he slept.
Also being auctioned off are clothes including a mini-dress by The Fool Collective.
Boyd said she offered her vintage pieces to her nieces but they weren’t interested and the sizes are off. She went on to say that women in the 60s were ‘really thin’ and sometimes retailers struggled to find mannequins small enough.
She told the newspaper: ‘Eating wasn’t high on our agenda, unlike today when I just love eating and cooking.’
The Pattie Boyd Collection will be offered online from March 8-22 and will be available for the public to view at the Christie’s HQ in London between March 15-21.
Letters to Boyd from Clapton
Dearest L…
I am writing this note to you, with the main purpose of ascertaining your feelings toward a subject well known to both of us… As you have probably gathered, my own home affairs are a galloping farce, which is rapidly degenerating day by intolerable day… It seems like an eternity since I last saw or spoke to you!
However, all of this is not to the point… What I wish to ask you is, if you still love your husband, or if you have another lover? All these questions are very impertinent I know but if there is still a feeling in your heart for me… You must let me know! In fact, you must let me know whatever your feelings are… Yon’t telephone! Send a letter… That is much safer.
Please do this, whatever it may say, my mind will be at rest…
All my love,
E.
Dear Layla,
For nothing more than the pleasures past I would sacrifice my family, my god, and my own existence, and still you will not move. I am at the end of my mind, I cannot go back and there is nothing in tomorrow (save you) that can attract me beyond today. I have listened to the wind, I have watched the dark brooding clouds, I have felt the earth beneath me for a sign, a gesture, but there is only silence. Why do you hesitate, am I a poor lover, am I ugly, am I too weak, too strong, do you know why? If you want me, take me, I am yours…
If you don’t want me, please break the spell that binds me. To cage a wild animal is a sin, to tame him is divine. My love is yours.
If you don’t want me, please break the spell that binds me.
To cage a wild animal is a sin, to tame him is divine.
My love is yours.