Emilio Sanchez (U.S. 2021)

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Announced on January 15th:

The art of Emilio Sanchez (1921-1999) is celebrated with four new stamps featuring his colorful architectural lithographs and paintings: “Los Toldos”(1973), “Ty’s Place” (1976), “En el Souk” (1972) and Untitled (Ventanita entreabierta) (1981). Sanchez explored the effects of light and shadow to emphasize the abstract geometry of his subjects. His artwork encompasses his Cuban heritage as well as his long life in New York City. Antonio Alcalá served as art director and designer for this pane of 20 stamps.

Additional information will appear below the line, with the latest at the top. The full-pane design is at the bottom of this page.

Updated July 5th:
Here are the Scott catalogue numbers for this issue:
5594 Los Toldos
a. Imperforate
5595 Ty’s Place
a. Imperforate
5596 En el Souk
a. Imperforate
5597 Untitled (Ventanita Entreabierta)
a. Imperforate
b. Horiz. or vert. strip of 4, #5594-5597
c. Imperforate horiz. or vert. strip of 4, #5594a-5597a

Updated May 20th from the Postal Bulletin:
On June 10, 2021, in Miami, FL, the United States Postal Service® will issue the Emilio Sanchez stamps (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate) in four designs, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 480600). The stamps will go on sale nationwide June 10, 2021, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue. The Emilio Sanchez commemorative pane of 20 stamps may not be split and the stamps may not be sold individually.The Postal Service™ celebrates artist Emilio Sanchez (1921–1999) with four new stamps featuring four of his colorful architectural lithographs and paintings:

  • Los Toldos (1973),
  • Ty‘s Place (1976),
  • En el Souk (1972), and
  • Untitled (Ventanita entreabierta) (1981).

The selvage features a photograph of Sanchez taken by Alexis Rodriguez-Duarte in June 1993. In the photograph, Sanchez sketches at the drawing table in his New York City loft studio. Sanchez explored the effects of light and shadow to emphasize the abstract geometry of his subjects. His artwork encompasses his Cuban heritage as well as his long life in New York City. Antonio Alcalá served as art director and designer for this pane of 20 stamps.

No automatic distribution.

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office™ or at The Postal Store® website at usps.com/shop. They must affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

FDOI – Emilio Sanchez Stamps
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by October 10, 2021.

Technical Specifications:

Issue: Emilio Sanchez Stamps
Item Number: 480600
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Pane of 20 (4 designs)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: June 10, 2021, Miami, FL 33152
Art Director: Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria VA
Designer: Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria VA
Artist: Emilio Sanchez
Modeler: Joseph Sheeran
Manufacturing Process: Offset
Printer: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd (APU)
Press Type: Muller A76
Stamps per Pane: 20
Print Quantity: 18,000,000 stamps
Paper Type: Nonphosphored Type III, Block Tag
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Colors: Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, PMS Cool Grey 6C
Stamp Orientation: Horizontal
Image Area (w x h): 1.42 x 1.085 in. / 36.068 x 27.559 mm
Overall Size (w x h): 1.56 x 1.225 in. / 39.624 x 31.115 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): 8.625 x 7.12 in. / 219.075 x 180.848 mm
Press Sheets Size (w x h): 26.125 x 21.610 in. / 663.575 x 548.894 mm
Plate Size: 180 stamps per revolution
Plate Number: “P” followed by five (5) single digits in two corners
Marginal Markings:
Front: Header: EMILIO SANCHEZ 1921-1999 • Plate number in bottom two corners
Back: ©2021 USPS • USPS logo • 2 barcodes (480600) • Plate position diagram (9) • Promotional text

Also updated May 20th:
Here are the first-day postmarks for this issue: The Digital Color Postmark measures 2.81″ x 1.42″

There is no pictorial postmark for this issue. The 4-bar FIRST DAY OF ISSUE postmark will be available.

Updated May 18th:
[press release]
Legacy of Acclaimed International Artist Emilio Sanchez Celebrated on U.S. Postal Service Commemorative Forever Stamp

What: The U.S. Postal Service will honor Emilio Sanchez on the anniversary of his 100th birthday with four commemorative Forever stamps featuring his colorful architectural lithographs and paintings.

News of the Emilio Sanchez Forever stamps is being shared with the hashtag #ArtistEmilioSanchezStamps.

Who: The Honorable Roman Martinez IV, vice chairman, U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors

Erik Stapper, trustee, Emilio Sanchez Foundation

Elizabeth Goizueta, author and lecturer, Romance languages and literature, adjunct curator, McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College

Victor Deupi, senior lecturer, University of Miami, School of Architecture

Jeffrey Duerk, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost, University of Miami

Richard Blanco, 2013 presidential inaugural poet for President Barack Obama, memoirist and associate professor, Florida International University

When: Thursday, June 10, 2021, at 11 a.m. EDT

Where: LnS Gallery
2610 SW 28th Lane
Miami, FL 33133

Background: With these stamps, the U.S. Postal Service celebrates the art of Emilio Sanchez (1921-1999). Best known for his architectural paintings and lithographs, Sanchez explored the effects of light and shadow to emphasize the abstract geometry of his subjects. His artwork encompasses his Cuban heritage as well as his long life in New York City.

Combining naturalism and abstraction, Sanchez’s architectural paintings and lithographs are not precise renderings but rather subjective interpretations of reality. Each work often depicts a single building. All extraneous details have been stripped away, although sometimes he highlights a specific feature, such as a balustrade, arched doorway or balcony. Strong light and deep shadows play across each building’s facade, delineating and emphasizing its abstract geometry without ever obscuring its true character.

Today, Sanchez’s work can be found in permanent collections around the world, where it inspires new generations of artists to look anew at the endless variation of shapes and shadows created by architectural forms.

Antonio Alcalá served as art director and designer for the Emilio Sanchez Forever stamps, which are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price.

Postal Products: Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products through the Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps, by calling (844) 737-7826, by mail through USA Philatelic, or at Post Office locations nationwide.

Updated March 17th:
These stamps will be issued June 10th with a first-day city of Miami.

15 thoughts on “Emilio Sanchez (U.S. 2021)”

    • Ellsworth Kelly was a hero who served in the U.S. Army as an artist creating props for the Ghost Army.

    • Have nothing to do with that. Great commemorative in my opinion. At least, it falls on an anniversary of artist’s birth year-wise.

  2. From Wikipedia:
    Emilio Sanchez (1921–1999) was a Cuban-American artist known for his architectural paintings and graphic lithographs. His work is found in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York NY), Museum of Modern Art (New York NY), National Gallery of Art (Washington DC), Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington DC), Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana (Havana, Cuba), Bogotá Museum of Modern Art (Bogotá, Colombia), La Tertulia Museum (Cali, Colombia), and the National Gallery of Australia (Canberra, Australia).

    A representational artist with a modernist and at times abstract approach, Sanchez emphasized “pattern, color and strong lighting contrasts”. By 1970 architectural themes, from detailed stained glass windows to abstracted storefronts or city skylines, dominated his oeuvre. Carol Damian of the Frost Art Museum (Miami FL) described his work as studies in “horizontals and verticals, bold stripes of color, and the ever-present shadows, especially diagonal shadows that he so favored, with darks and lights in repetition.” For her, Sanchez’s work was “not a picture of something, but the application of pigment onto a flat surface to become a singular object to its own definition.”

  3. Mr Sanchez’s artwork could be more at home on a side of the next skyscraper , where i would be more appreciated,NOT ON A USPS POSTAGE STAMP!!

    • I agree that many recent issues are a waste of time and resources, but I think these stamps are beautiful and the art is first-rate.

  5. They often say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.I find it difficult to be objective aboiut the art od Emilio Sanchez. It certainly is NOT WORTHY of being considered for a postal stamp. Given our recent track record of items depicted on US stamps, the commission decides such matters should be FIRED and replaced with people with better taste. How long will this farce continue?

  6. His work is gorgeous and so deserving of the honor. Abstract art looks great on stamps!

    • Any art collector will appreciate it. Keep in mind fellows, a stamp is an form of art of itself.

  7. Can You say : “POLITICALLY CORRECT” thought ya could. I guess we have to a equal representation of all ethnic groups. I mean why would we Honor John Glenn or Nancy Reagan or any of the other long list of Accomplished Americans who were also born in 1921 ?

  8. The USPS must have found this “art work” taped to the door of his mother’s refrigerator

  9. When will the USPS issue stamps depicting the works of Keith Haring. A truly gifted artist!

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