Sir Peter Blake CBE RA (British, b. 1932)

Peter Blake was born in Dartford, Kent in 1932. He studied at the Gravesend Technical College and School of Art from 1946 to 1951 and this training as a commercial artist, illustrator and painter is at the heart of his oeuvre. In 1950 he was accepted by the Royal College of Art, London but was unable to attend due to National Service, as he served with the RAF from 1951-1953. Following this period he attended the RCA, leading to a first class diploma in 1956. During this period, Blake's work was essentially figurative, focusing of largely autobiographical scenes, though often inspired by comics and the circus, a precursor to his later 'Pop' work. In 1956-7 Blake traveled Europe studying popular art and in 1959 the first pop works appeared in the form of collages of pin-up singers and actresses. From 1960 to 1962 Blake taught at St. Martin's, London and from 1961 to 1964 at the Walthamstow School of Art. In 1969 there was a retrospective exhibition at the City Art Gallery, Bristol. In 1974 he became an Associate of the Royal Academy and was a founder member of the Brotherhood of Ruralists in 1979, exhibiting with them at the RA summer exhibition in 1976. In 1981 he was elected RA and in 1983 there was a major retrospective held at the Tate Gallery. Throughout the 1980s Blake continued to pursue a range of commercial and fine art projects. In 1998 he was made an Honorary Doctor of the Royal College of Art.