Photo: from Punch to Roald Dahl to Children's Laureate, Quentin Blake's drawings have been bringing smiles to our faces for 50 years. Courtesy Quentin Blake.
Quentin Blake: 50 Years of Illustration is on show at the Harris Museum and Art Gallery in Preston until June 20.
Does Roald Dahl owe some of his popularity to the vibrant drawings which accompanied his stories?
It doesn’t seem too far-fetched, for the artist who drew them is a master of witty sketches. Quentin Blake has brought his special touch to about 300 books since his first drawing was published in Punch when he was 16-years-old.
At the Harris Museum and Art Gallery a collection of his drawings has been brought together for a display that includes his illustrations for Arabel’s Raven by Joan Aiken.
The style is simple yet unmistakeable: dots for eyes, pointy noses, a curved line for a smile and a smudge of ink for colour. Blake captures a mood with the flick of his pen and makes wry comments with a splash of ink.
Photo: Preston's Harris Museum was founded in 1893 by wealthy lawyer, Edmund Robert Harris. Courtesy the Harris Museum and Art Gallery.
Generations brought up on Dahl have been lucky enough to have his pen shape favourites Matilda, The BFG and The Witches amongst others.
Blake began to illustrate children’s books in 1960, collaborating with Michael Rosen, Russell Hoban and Joan Aiken as well as Dahl over the years.
He was head of the illustration department at the Royal College of Art from 1978 until 1986 and was awarded his OBE in 1988. Fittingly, he then became the first Children’s Laureate – a position created in 1999 to promote children’s literature.
His own books, including Mister Magnolia and Mrs Armitage, have won many awards and in 2002 he was given the Hans Christian Anderson Award for Illustration.
The exhibition at the Harris Museum and Art Gallery cherry-picks from Blake’s huge body of work for adults and children. There are early drawings for Punch and The Spectator, including a front cover for the latter showing a chap on a penny farthing with Blake’s trademark pointy toes.
Photo: Quentin Blake's characteristic style added extra weight to the Guardian's Kids in Museums Campaign. Courtesy Quentin Blake.
As well as works from his later collaborations with children’s authors and from his self-penned books, there are lesser-known illustrations for French, Dutch and Italian publishers on show.
The artist’s progress can be seen in portfolios of rough sketches through to finished articles, providing plenty of interest for students and professionals. The drawings on show are part of the Quentin Blake Archive of thousands of drawings, which will be handed over to the Quentin Blake Gallery of Illustration in the future. The Gallery is currently looking for a permanent home, where it will provide a flagship centre for promoting the art of illustration.
