# 5596 - 2021 First-Class Forever Stamp - Emilio Sanchez: En el Souk
US #5596
2021 En el Souk – Emilio Sanchez
- One of four stamps honoring Emilio Sanchez, the first Cuban American artist to have his work pictured on US postage stamps
- Issued on Sanchez’s 100th birth anniversary
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set: Emilio Sanchez
Value: 55¢ First Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue: June 10, 2021
First Day City: Miami, Florida
Quantity Issued: 18,000,000
Printed by: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd.
Printing Method: Offset
Format: Panes of 20
Tagging: Nonphosphored Type III, Block Tag
Why the stamp was issued: To celebrate the many works of Cuban-American abstract artist Emilio Sanchez.
About the stamp design: Pictures Emilio Sanchez’s piece “En el Souk” (1972).
First Day City: The First Day of Issue was held at the LnS Gallery in Miami, Florida, a city famous for its high population of Cuban Americans.
About the Emilio Sanchez set: Includes four stamps, each picturing a different piece of art by Emilio Sanchez: “Los Toldos” (1973), “Ty’s Place” (1976), “En el Souk” (1972), and Untitled (Ventanita entreabierta) (1981). The stamps marked the first time a Cuban-American artist had his art pictured on a US postage stamp. They were issued to coincide with the artist’s 100th birth anniversary. The selvage of the sheet includes a photograph of Emilio Sanchez taken by Alexis Rodriguez-Duarte in June 1993.
History the stamp represents: Emilio Sanchez was one of a handful of modern travel artists. He frequently visited the Caribbean and Latin America. His paintings captured their local architecture, snapshots of daily life, and the ongoing urban changes of the times.
After settling in New York in 1952, Sanchez, who was used to Cuba’s warmer climate, spent his winters in more temperate areas. As always, he carried his sketch book and camera to capture inspiration for his paintings. He found significant inspiration studying the dramatic effects of the sunlight on the various structures he explored.
In Casablanca, Morocco, Sanchez was particularly interested in the bright white vernacular buildings. He also explored color in his paintings of sunsets, clotheslines, and tropical fruits and flowers. But he was drawn to the architecture – broken shutters and doors, open windows, and geometric patterns created from light and shadows. Even in the rare cases when he included people in his paintings, they were highly stylized – appearing simply as silhouettes or shadows.
Sanchez’s paintings were well received at home and in the countries he visited. In 1974, he won first prize in the prestigious San Juan Biennial (Puerto Rico), earning him international acclaim.
US #5596
2021 En el Souk – Emilio Sanchez
- One of four stamps honoring Emilio Sanchez, the first Cuban American artist to have his work pictured on US postage stamps
- Issued on Sanchez’s 100th birth anniversary
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set: Emilio Sanchez
Value: 55¢ First Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue: June 10, 2021
First Day City: Miami, Florida
Quantity Issued: 18,000,000
Printed by: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd.
Printing Method: Offset
Format: Panes of 20
Tagging: Nonphosphored Type III, Block Tag
Why the stamp was issued: To celebrate the many works of Cuban-American abstract artist Emilio Sanchez.
About the stamp design: Pictures Emilio Sanchez’s piece “En el Souk” (1972).
First Day City: The First Day of Issue was held at the LnS Gallery in Miami, Florida, a city famous for its high population of Cuban Americans.
About the Emilio Sanchez set: Includes four stamps, each picturing a different piece of art by Emilio Sanchez: “Los Toldos” (1973), “Ty’s Place” (1976), “En el Souk” (1972), and Untitled (Ventanita entreabierta) (1981). The stamps marked the first time a Cuban-American artist had his art pictured on a US postage stamp. They were issued to coincide with the artist’s 100th birth anniversary. The selvage of the sheet includes a photograph of Emilio Sanchez taken by Alexis Rodriguez-Duarte in June 1993.
History the stamp represents: Emilio Sanchez was one of a handful of modern travel artists. He frequently visited the Caribbean and Latin America. His paintings captured their local architecture, snapshots of daily life, and the ongoing urban changes of the times.
After settling in New York in 1952, Sanchez, who was used to Cuba’s warmer climate, spent his winters in more temperate areas. As always, he carried his sketch book and camera to capture inspiration for his paintings. He found significant inspiration studying the dramatic effects of the sunlight on the various structures he explored.
In Casablanca, Morocco, Sanchez was particularly interested in the bright white vernacular buildings. He also explored color in his paintings of sunsets, clotheslines, and tropical fruits and flowers. But he was drawn to the architecture – broken shutters and doors, open windows, and geometric patterns created from light and shadows. Even in the rare cases when he included people in his paintings, they were highly stylized – appearing simply as silhouettes or shadows.
Sanchez’s paintings were well received at home and in the countries he visited. In 1974, he won first prize in the prestigious San Juan Biennial (Puerto Rico), earning him international acclaim.