CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 9/4/2025

'Jason Polan: The Post Office' is a "kind of portrait, and a manifesto for finding happiness in the tiny details of life"

Beloved Ann Arbor–born, NYC-based illustrator Jason Polan was renowned for his humorous and engaging sketches of citizens (and celebrities) simply engaging in the world—especially at museums and iconic New York City locations. (MoMA Design curator Paola Antonelli called him an NYC “treasure” and compared him to New York Times style photographer Bill Cunningham.) An open-minded, absolute anti-snob, he founded the open-to-all Taco Bell Drawing Club, had a regular column in the New York Times, and his drawings were published in the New Yorker, Metropolis, McSweeney’s and other venues. His epic project to sketch “Every Person in New York” became a bestselling book. And he collaborated with UNIQLO, Nike, Vans and Marvel Comics. By the time he died, at just 37 years old, from cancer, he had charmed millions and corresponded with hundreds. Featured here are a few spreads from Printed Matter’s posthumous new release, Jason Polan: The Post Office, collecting to-and-from mail art gathered by Polan’s friend and fellow artist, Jason Fulford, who calls the book a “kind of portrait, and a manifesto for finding happiness in the tiny details of life.”