1. By Nadia Rowbotham

2. Biography 1932 Born 25 th June, Dartford, Kent 1946-51 Attended Gravesend Technical College and School of art 1951-53 National service in the R.A.F 1953-56 Royal College of Art, London – First Class Diploma 1956-57 Leverhulme Research Award to study popular art. 1960-64 Taught at several Schools of Art including St Martin’s, Harrow and Walthamstow. 1963 Married Jann Haworth 1964-76 Taught at Royal College of Art , London 1975 Founding member of The Brotherhood of Ruralists with Jann Haworth, Ann and Graham Arnold, David Inshaw, and Annie and Graham Ovenden. 1994-96 Third associate Artist of the National Gallery, London 2002 Received Knighthood . Became professor of Drawing at the Royal Academy Schools.

3. Blake’s Early Work Blake's early work is dominated by two major subjects: fantastic scenes from the world of the circus and naturalistic paintings with autobiographic elements. Circus characters and children reading comic books are among the artist's typical motifs. In style and content both types of pictures paved the way for English Pop Art.

4. Leverhulme scholarship Thanks to a Leverhulme scholarship, Blake had the opportunity to travel through Europe from 1956 to 1957, where he acquainted himself with the artistic trends of the time. In 1959, inspired by reproductions by Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns, Blake began to paint collage-like pictures of pop musicians and film stars and to produce assemblages made of recycled material, postcards and other items.

5. Brotherhood of Ruralists In 1975 Blake was one of the founding members of the 'Brotherhood of Ruralists'. His imagery changed under the influence of this group of artists and his rural surroundings in Wellow on Avon. Just like the pre-Raffaelites, they strove for an aesthetic permeation of all parts of life. Childhood memories, fairy tales and elves, depicted in realistic style using techniques of the old masters, became his favourite subjects.

6. Collage Blake’s most recent work has taken the form of collage, inspired by his work in 1959 where he produce assemblages made of recycled material, postcards and other items. Most of his collages are made up of collected items and images, creating memories of holidays or trips.

7. Influential Artists – Robert Rauschenberg Blake was inspired by reproductions by both Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. Robert Rauschenberg was an American artist who came to prominence in the 1950s . Rauschenberg Blake You can clearly see the influence Rauschenberg had on Blake as he began to paint collage-like pictures of pop musicians and film stars.

8. Jasper Johns is an American contemporary artist who works primarily in painting and printmaking. You can see very clearly that Johns has influenced Blake’s art work. Influential Artists - Jasper Johns Blake Johns

9. Pop art is mainly made up of painting, photo-montage, screen printing, soap screening and collage. It originated in the late 1950’s and lasted for about 2 decades, although some artists still use that style today. It is both American and British based and focuses on the huge growth of consumerism after the Second World War. The artists tend to be making a social comment on this consumerism. (Influenced by Friend, 2006) Pop Art Blake sits firmly within the Pop Art movement and many sources say that his work paved the way for pop art, ‘Blake was the pioneer of Pop Art’ (Chamot 1964). Andy Warhol Peter Blake Roy Lichtenstein

10. Abstract Expressionism Began around 1946 Abstract Expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was an important predecessor is surrealism, with its emphasis on spontaneous, automatic or subconscious creation. The bold colours introduced in this period can be clearly seen in the later pop art movement. Postmodernism Throughout 1970’s Postmodernism was thought to be in contradiction to some aspect of modernism, or to have emerged or developed in its aftermath. Its traits include collage, simplification, appropriation, depiction of consumer or popular culture and Performance art. Jackson Pollock Alan Davie Barbara Kruger Julian Schnabel POP ART Began around 1952

11. Pop Art in the classroom For pupils to have a solid understanding of Pop Art, they need to see as many examples of it as possible and learn how they came to be created. Many artists use different processes and techniques and it is important to know how they were made and the reasons behind them. As with any art movement they should be allowed to study closely the work of select artists, creating reproductions where suitable before they can be inspired to create their own piece in the same style. Make It Pop! Activities and Adventures in Pop Art. By Joyce Raimondo Although this book does not contain any work by Peter Blake, it does provide valuable information about the Pop Art Movement. It also contains the work of Blake’s inspirational artists. Pop art will teach children about the use of colour as the movement is well known for its brash use of bright block colours and contrasts.

14. Collage in the Classroom Mixing art and imagination! Collage and assemblage art are compositions of various elements (such as paper, wood, fabric, feathers, leaves, and other found objects) fixed with an adhesive glue or paint. All of Blake’s work has an element of collage. It is important to allow children to explore and understand collage before creating a final piece. Peter Blake: About Collage By Natalie Rudd There is a child friendly version of this book that is called: Make Your Own Collage with Peter Blake By Natalie Rudd The book explains how to create collages and what to consider when making. This is a really useful resource for both children and teachers. Collage teaches children about composition and texture.

15. Activity With the person next to you, discuss what you think the piece of work could be about from what you can see in the snippet above. This picture is about memories of Paris. By revealing only a small section of the image to begin with will promote thinking and imagination of what the image could be depicting.

20. Bibliography Blake, P. and Rudd, N. (2007) Make Your Own Collage with Peter Blake. London: Tate Publishing. Chamot, M. et al. (1965) The Modern British Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture. London: Oldbourne Mick, J. (2008) Jen Mick: Visual and Textile Artist. Available at: http://jenmick.com/ (Accessed: 22 April 2009). Raimondo, J. (2006) Make It Pop! Activities and Adventures in Pop Art. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications Inc. Rudd, N. (2003) Peter Blake. London: Tate Publishing. Waddington Galleries (2005) Peter Blake. London: Waddington Galleries. Wroe, N. (2006) Peter Blake: The Bigger Picture. Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2006/jan/21/art (Accessed: 16 January 2009). All images sourced from: Tate Collections (2009) Available at: http://www.tate.org.uk/collection/ (Accessed: 19 March 2009)