MA artist Dale Stephanos to be honored for creating Betty White USPS postage stamp

The Mass Arts Center is set to honor local artist Dale Stephanos with its Distinguished Artist Award for his work creating a postage stamp featuring actress Betty White.

The center announced Monday that it will be presenting Stephanos with the award in March, just days before the U.S. Postal Service releases the new stamp.

The stamp features Stephanos' artwork of White, the late actress known for roles in shows like "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Golden Girls."

"I’d love to send a letter back to my 18-year-old self with this stamp on it and tell him that everything is going to be OK," Stephanos said in a release.
According to the release, Stephanos is a professional illustrator from Foxboro with more than 30 years of experience. He has a gallery in Boston and also teaches at Suffolk University and Lyme Academy College of Fine Art. He is married to WCVB anchor Maria Stephanos.

How to get a Betty White forever stamp from USPS

The U.S. Postal Service is releasing the Betty White forever stamp on March 27. A forever stamp can be used to mail a one-ounce letter regardless of when it is purchased and no matter how prices change.

The stamp, which has a violet background, features a digitally created portrait of White based on a 2010 photo. Stephanos created the art and the stamp was designed by Greg Breeding, according to a release.
According to the release, White's family also wanted the stamp to reflect her lifelong animal activism, so Stephanos included a paw-print-shaped earring.