Joan Witek on Sol LeWitt

Sol LeWitt, Postcard, 1996, felt-tip marker on postcard, 4 x 6 inches (10.2 x 15.2 cm). © 2013 The LeWitt Estate / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Photo: Ellen McDermott — Sol LeWitt, *Postcard*, 1996, felt-tip marker on postcard, 4 x 6 inches (10.2 x 15.2 cm). © 2013 The LeWitt Estate / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Photo: Ellen McDermott

Verso of Sol LeWitt, Postcard, 1996, felt-tip marker on postcard, 4 x 6 inches (10.2 x 15.2 cm). © 2013 The LeWitt Estate / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Photo: Ellen McDermott — Verso of Sol LeWitt, *Postcard*, 1996, felt-tip marker on postcard, 4 x 6 inches (10.2 x 15.2 cm). © 2013 The LeWitt Estate / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Photo: Ellen McDermott

It was said that Sol didn’t like vacations. His pleasure was being in his studio. He explained that he had worked out his life as he wanted it to be, so why take a vacation from it?

Perhaps this postcard to Wynn Kramarsky from October 1996 may have been sent during Sol’s slip from a life of rigorous non-vacationing.

Sol and Carol LeWitt sent this postcard from the Brazilian town of Ouro Preto (Portuguese for “black gold”), just over 500 kilometers from Rio de Janeiro. Ouro Preto is a well-known historic center, famous for its 17th- and 18th-century art and architecture. Grand monuments were created here as testaments to the town’s wealth, which was derived from the rich gold deposits in the area.