Sir Peter Blake RA British, b. 1932
Born in 1932, Peter Blake is synonymous with the British Pop-Art movement of the 1950’s and 60’s. Studying as a painter and illustrator in the early 50’s, Blake transferred to the Royal College of Art, only to leave in 1956 to travel through Europe. On his travels Blake discovered the work of Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns, and soon took to creating collage work; a medium he would go on to develop into his distinctly iconic style.
Utilising common motifs found in magazines, postcards, posters, and other recycled ready-to-hand materials, Blake distilled and re-interpreted the imagery of Pop culture. The contents of his works are familiar to us all yet the compositions use various autobiographical elements which work together to create his very personal visual narrative.
