Sir Peter Blake won international fame in the 1960's as one of the leading exponents of the British Pop Art movement. His work is represented in major collections throughout the world.
His images are born from a love affair with the icons and ephemera of popular culture and his influence on the music world can be summarised by the seminal cover art for the Beatle's 'Sergeant Pepper' album. Born in 1932 in Dartford England. From 1946 to 1951 he studied at Gravesend Technical College and School of Art and he graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1956. From 1951 to 1953 he served in the Royal Air Force. He studied Folk Art in various European countries with a research award. From 1959 he did collages with pin-up photos star images posters LP covers and other images.
Between 1960 and 1962 he taught at St. Martin's School of Art London and from 1962 to 1964 at the Walthamstow School of Art. In 1961 he obtained First Prize in the John Moore Exhibition Liverpool for Self-portrait with Badges. In 1963 he married Jann Haworth and travelled to Los Angeles to do drawings for the Sunday Times. From 1974 to 1976 he taught at the Royal College of Art London.
The City Art Gallery in Bristol gave him his first retrospective in 1969. He moved to Wellow Avon and continued to live there until 1974. In 1973 and 1974 he had retrospectives in Amsterdam Hamburg Brussels and Arnheim. In 1969 Blake became a 'Ruralist' and left the city to live in the countryside with his then wife the artist Jann Howarth eventually founding 'The Brotherhood of Ruralists' in 1975. He now works from his studio in Hammersmith London and maintains a prolific output of work.
