Hey there, SideDorables. We are getting close to launching our new season of SideDor, which is

very exciting. But in the meantime, since you've shown us so much love, we wanted to give you

a little something special to show our appreciation this Valentine's Day. Stashed in the collection

of the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art is a trove of love letters from famous artists.

And I don't know about you, but to me, love letters are the best kind of letters.

They bring out the voyeur in us, give us a peek at the most intimate of human relationships,

and remind us that whatever drama might be playing out in our own lives,

people have loved and lost forever and ever. So in honor of Valentine's Day,

we've asked our friends at the Archives of American Art to read a few of their favorite

love letters from artists throughout the last century. Hope you enjoy.

Let's kick things off with a juicy one. This letter was hand-picked by Liza Kerwin,

the interim director of the Archives of American Art. And just to be clear, this letter was written

by an abstract expressionist artist named Joan Mitchell, not to be confused with Joni Mitchell.

Here's Liza. It's a letter to Michael Goldberg, who was a fellow abstract expressionist,

that she was having a affair with, who at that time was at the Rockland State Hospital

in Orangeburg, New York. And he was spending six months there in lieu of prison time,

because he had written fraudulent checks on Joan Mitchell's husband's account.

Whoa!

Yes, so there's a love affair, and there's also some prison time involved.

Juicy. Yeah. Okay, let's hear it. So at this time, Joan is just beginning her career,

and it's just beginning to take off, and she's considering options for galleries, and she,

you know, really can't move on without Goldberg with her. She's really heart sick.

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