Musicians’ muse Pattie Boyd auctions love letters from Eric Clapton and George Harrison

“Something in the way she moves / Attracts me like no other lover”

“Like a fool, I fell in love with you / You turned my whole world upside down.”

She’s the woman behind the lyrics of Eric Clapton’s pining love song ‘Layla’ and George Harrison’s swooning ‘Something’. Pattie Boyd is often regarded as one of the most legendary muses in rock and roll history.

In the 1960s and 70s she was also at the centre of one of rock and roll’s most notorious love triangles, inspiring some of the greatest love songs of all time.

Now 80, the English model and photographer is parting with her souvenirs from that time, selling a collection of memorabilia at Christie’s that gives new insight into her marriages to Harrison and Clapton.

Pattie Boyd and George Harrison posing for a photograph taken by Boyd at their home in Surrey, estimated to sell for 4,000-6,000 pounds. CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2023

At the crossroads of the counterculture movement

Before meeting Harrison on the set of Richard Lester’s musical comedy A Hard Day’s Night, Boyd was a successful fashion model.

At age 19, she fell in love with Harrison, the “quiet one” in the British supergroup The Beatles, and the two married in 1966.

The “Pattie Boyd Collection” at Christie’s includes many photos of the young couple from the early days of their relationship, along with handwritten lyrics, psychedelic drawings and letters from Harrison.

A photograph of Pattie Boyd taken by Eric Swayne in 1963, part of the Pattie Boyd collection at Christie’s. CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2023

A rare set of handwritten lyrics in George Harrison’s handwriting to the song “Mystical One”, estimated to sell for 30,000-50,000 pounds. CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2023

Boyd was the inspiration behind many of Harrison’s songs, including ‘I Need You’, ‘For You Blue’ and ‘Something’, hailed by Frank Sinatra as one of the greatest love songs ever written.

Pattie Boyd and then-husband George Harrison attend the 1967 London premiere of “How I won the War” starring Michael Crawford and John Lennon. AP Photo

She was also an important influence on The Beatles’ shift to spirituality and psychedelics.

Over the years, Boyd became a well-known photographer in her own right, and her collection includes many of the photographs she took of The Beatles, Clapton and other musicians.

“Is there still a feeling in your heart for me?” Clapton’s pleas to Boyd

Things got complicated when one of Harrison’s closest friends became infatuated with Boyd. Just as her marriage to the Beatle was getting rocky, she started receiving letters at her home from a mysterious man, “E.”

“I had no idea it was from Eric. I thought it was a letter from a weird fan,” Boyd said in an interview with Christie’s. “I even showed it to George!”

She was surprised when Clapton called to ask her if she received any mail from him. “I said, ‘Oh my god, I didn’t realise it was from you!’”

The first love letter from Eric Clapton to Pattie Boyd, sent to her home with then-husband George Harrison. CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2023

In the first letter, Clapton writes to ask Boyd how she feels about him: “If there is still a feeling in your heart for me… you must let me know!”

“I have kept the letter ever since in a little box filled with trinkets and things,” Boyd said. “It’s a very beautifully written letter, but the writing is so small – it takes up not even a third of the page. It’s like he was rather shy about writing it. It’s like a whisper instead of a talk.”

This is one of two love letters included in the auction that Clapton wrote to Boyd during her marriage to Harrison.

The second is more desperate, scribbled on a page from John Steinbeck’s book “Of Mice and Men”, with Clapton passionately questioning “why do you hesitate? am i a poor lover, am i ugly, am i too weak, too strong, do you know why?”

“Please break the spell that binds me. to cage a wild animal is a sin, to tame him is divine”.

A second love letter from Eric Clapton to Pattie Boyd, written on a page from the book ‘Of Mice and Men’ in 1970, while Boyd was still married to George Harrison. CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2023

Codename Layla

Boyd is also selling the original cover artwork for Clapton’s band Derek and The Dominos’ 1970s album ‘Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs’, a painting of a blonde woman that reminded Clapton of Boyd. It’s estimated to sell for between £40,000 and £60,000 (€46,754 to €70,000).

The original oil painting used as album artwork for the 1970 Derek and the Dominos album “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs” is the leading lot in the auction. CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2023

Clapton wrote the song for Boyd while she was still with Harrison, to persuade her to run away with him. He also wrote ‘Wonderful Tonight’ about Boyd, as she got ready for a night out.

In the end, all of Clapton’s wooing worked – Boyd married him in 1979. Amazingly, the trio remained close friends, with Harrison even referring to Clapton as his “husband-in-law”.

A unique colour Polaroid photograph Pattie Boyd took of Eric Clapton with his favourite Fender Stratocaster guitar, nicknamed ‘Blackie’, circa 1977. CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2023

While her marriage with Clapton ended in 1989, Boyd is still on speaking terms with the musician, and she says she asked for Clapton’s permission before selling the possessions.

“He asked if I was selling the Layla painting, and I said yes,” she told The Telegraph. “He said, ‘Maybe there are other things you could sell as well.’ So he’s absolutely fine with me auctioning everything.”

Pattie Boyd, model, writer, photographer and the former wife of musicians George Harrison and Eric Clapton, at a speaking even in 2016. Ron Harris/AP Photo

Aside from the letters, Boyd’s collection of memorabilia includes clothing and jewellery she wore, photographs she took (including some of the Beatles on tour in India), drawings and trinkets from albums and tours.

The Pattie Boyd Collection will go up for auction online at Christie’s from 8 to 21 March 2024.