St. Olaf College

Peter Blake

Contemporary Pop art painter, illustrator
England
b. b. 1932
View objects by this artist.

Sir Peter Blake was born in Dartford, Kent, England on the 25th of June . He became one of the best known British pop artists in the mid of the 20th century. Blake worked in many mediums such as print making, sculptor and design in his long career, however he is most known for his paintings. His paintings often contained collage elements and references to 1960’s popular culture.  The imagery he would often use was from advertisements, comics, pin-ups and wrestling. Although he drew from many more pop culture elements, as the pop artists are known for. His paintings varied in style, from semi-realism to complete abstraction and everything in between. The work he is most famous for is his album cover designs. He created two covers for the Who, one for Band Aid and one concert poster for Live Aid. What was arguably his claim to fame was his cover for the Beatles’ LP Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club that he created with his wife at the time Jann Haworth.

In 2002 he was knighted at Buckingham Palace for his services to art. Blake continues to make art to this day, recently redoing the cover he made for the Beatles’ among more.

Source
“Blake, Sir Peter - Oxford Reference.” Blake, Sir Peter - Oxford Reference, 31 Aug. 2019, www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191782763.001.0001/acref-9780191782763-e-288
Nikkhah, Roya. “Sir Peter Blake: Why I Chose Pop over Pot.” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 25 July 2010, www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-features/7908366/Sir-Peter-Blake-why-I-chose-Pop-over-pot.html.
Percy, Graham. “Imagined Histories: Sir Peter Blake, Born 1932.” National Galleries of Scotland, National Galleries of Scotland, www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/101845/imagined-histories-sir-peter-blake-born-1932.
Tate. “Peter Blake Born 1932.” Tate, www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/peter-blake-763.


Jackie Dudley ‘20
November 2019