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‘The Meeting’ or ‘Have a Nice Day, Mr Hockney’ by Peter Blake
On the Balcony by Peter Blake
Portrait of David Hockney in a Hollywood Spanish Interior by Peter Blake
The First Real Target by Peter Blake
Self-Portrait with Badges by Peter Blake
The Fine Art Bit by Peter Blake
Tuesday by Peter Blake
The Masked Zebra Kid by Peter Blake

Where to See Peter Blake

18 museums worldwide

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About Peter Blake

British · 1932–present

Co-founded British Pop Art before Warhol, designed the Sgt. Pepper cover for GBP200, and has never understood the gap between comics and cathedrals.

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Portrait of Peter Blake
Museums18
Countries6
Most worksTate, Tate Britain · 8 works
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Where to see Peter Blake

Ranked by works you can see in person.

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • Where can I see Peter Blake's work?
    Peter Blake's work can be viewed in several galleries and museums, both in the United Kingdom and internationally. In the UK, notable institutions include the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, Manchester Art Gallery, the National Museums of Scotland (Royal Museum) in Edinburgh, and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Other locations include the Bakelite Museum in Williton and the Geffrye Museum in London. Outside the UK, several museums in the United States hold relevant works. These include the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art in Winter Park, Florida; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA); the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; the Minneapolis Institute of Arts; the Museum of Modern Art[6] in New York; the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond; and the Wolfsonian at Florida International University in Miami Beach. The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada, also has relevant holdings.
  • What should I know about Peter Blake's prints?
    Peter Blake is a British artist associated with the Pop art movement. He is well known for his collages and graphic work, often incorporating images from popular culture. Blake studied at Gravesend School of Art, and later at the Royal College of Art[1] until 1956. Early in his career, he was interested in folk art; he collected postcards, cigarette cards, and other ephemera. These interests are clear in his later prints and collages. Blake's prints often feature appropriated imagery. He uses photographs, commercial illustrations, and text fragments. These elements combine to create layered compositions. Some of his best-known works include the cover design for the Beatles' *Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band* (1967), and his illustrations for Lewis Carroll's *Alice in Wonderland*. Blake has produced prints using various techniques. These include screen printing, etching, and wood engraving. His prints are characterised by their bold colours, and graphic style. He often revisits themes and motifs throughout his career, creating variations on earlier works. His work explores themes of nostalgia, celebrity, and the relationship between art and commerce.
  • Why are Peter Blake's works important today?
    Peter Blake is a significant figure in British pop art; his work continues to be relevant because of his innovative techniques and subject matter. Blake's incorporation of commercial imagery, such as advertisements and celebrity portraits, into his art challenged traditional notions of what constituted high art. This approach resonated with a generation that was increasingly exposed to mass media. Blake's use of collage and mixed media also pushed the boundaries of artistic expression. He combined painting, printmaking, and found objects to create visually arresting compositions. One of his most recognised works is the cover design for the Beatles' album *Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band* (1967). This design cemented his place in pop culture and demonstrated the power of art to reach a wide audience. His art often explores themes of nostalgia and popular culture, referencing earlier eras and icons. This nostalgic quality appeals to contemporary audiences who appreciate the intersection of art and cultural history. Blake's continued experimentation with different styles and media ensures his ongoing influence on subsequent generations of artists.
  • How did Peter Blake create his work?
    Blake's work, such as On the Balcony (1955-1957), incorporates collaged elements. Paint is revealed as a skin over a more solid structure, and the whole surface is more like a miniature mountainscape than a flat canvas.
  • What techniques or materials did Peter Blake use?
    Peter Blake is associated with collage, both in physical form and as a stylistic approach to painting. He often combines found imagery, such as photographs and postcards, with painted elements. This creates layered surfaces and juxtapositions of different visual languages. Blake's early work involved watercolour, often on untraditional surfaces like wood or hardboard. He also used oil paint and, later, screen printing. His interest in popular culture led him to incorporate commercial printing techniques into his fine art practice. Blake is known for his use of appropriated imagery. This includes images of celebrities, advertising ephemera, and other mass-produced materials. He recontextualises these elements within his compositions, often exploring themes of nostalgia and the relationship between high and low art. He is also associated with assemblage, a three-dimensional form of collage.
  • Who did Peter Blake influence?
    Peter Blake's influence can be seen in the development of British Pop Art. By the early 1960s, he had developed his mature style and, as a result, influenced a younger generation of painters. Several artists who attended the Royal College of Art[1] were affected by Blake's work. These included Derek Boshier, Allen Jones, R. B. Kitaj, Peter Phillips, David Hockney, and Patrick Caulfield. These artists, along with Blake, exhibited together at the Young Contemporaries exhibition in 1961, signalling the arrival of a new artistic movement. Blake's work mixed popular imagery, underground culture, and North American singers and actors. He combined these with coloured strips characteristic of North American hard-edge painting. This approach, which incorporated commercial items and popular imagery, helped pave the way for the British Pop Art movement. Blake tutored artists such as Batarda at the Royal College of Art between 1971 and 1974, passing on his knowledge and experience.
  • Who influenced Peter Blake?
    Peter Blake's influences are diverse. His early work incorporated commercial items, such as cigarette packets and food packaging, into his compositions. These objects became important elements in his art, pointing toward the British Pop Art movement. Blake overlapped at the Royal College with Frank Auerbach and Lucian Freud, painters from the School of London. He also taught the Portuguese artist, Batarda, at the London school between 1971 and 1974, alongside Peter de Francia. Blake's work mixed popular imagery, underground culture, and North American singers and actors. He also used coloured strips characteristic of North American hard edge painting. Blake himself acknowledges the contribution of his contemporaries, even while distinguishing his artistic intentions from theirs. For example, he notes that while Derek Boshier was interested in the Space Race and international politics, Blake's own focus was different. Blake states that his reason to paint is "to make magic". He also recognises that his acceptance of commercial commissions may affect how seriously some people view his work.
  • What is Peter Blake's most famous work?
    Peter Blake is often called the "godfather of British Pop Art". Although he dislikes social commentary, his art records his nostalgia for his childhood and youth. Blake's painting *On the Balcony* (1955-1957) is often considered his most famous work. The painting depicts figures on a park bench surrounded by commercial items, such as cigarette packets and food packaging. It also contains four paintings executed by Blake's fellow students. *On the Balcony* is oil on canvas, and it is in the collection of the Tate, London. Blake plays with the differences between reality and illusion in the painting. Some magazine covers appear to be collaged, but every detail is painted. The green background could be a noticeboard or a patch of lawn. The objects are all to scale, but their relationships to each other are inconsistent. Blake also made pictures of Elvis Presley. In *El* (1961), he collaged a picture of the rock star onto a panel of wood. He also painted Bo Diddley in 1963/64.

Sources

Where to See guide aggregates verified holdings of Peter Blake's works across the following collections.

  1. [1] museum Royal College of Art Used for: museum holdings.
  2. [2] museum Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Used for: museum holdings.
  3. [3] museum Ferens Art Gallery Used for: museum holdings.
  4. [4] museum Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery Used for: museum holdings.
  5. [5] museum National Museum Cardiff Used for: museum holdings.
  6. [6] museum Museum of Modern Art Used for: museum holdings.
  7. [7] book Beard, Lee, 1973- author, Butler, Adam, author; Van Cleave, Claire, author; Fortenberry, Diane, author; Stirling, Susan, author, Beard, Lee, 1973- author, Butler, Adam, author; Van Cleave, Claire, author; Fortenberry, Diane, author; Stirling, Susan, author - The Art Book_ New Edition, Mini Format Used for: biography, stylistic analysis.
  8. [8] book Masterpieces of western art : a history of art in 900 individual studies from the Gothic to the present day Used for: biography.
  9. [9] book Alastair Sooke, Pop Art Used for: stylistic analysis.
  10. [10] book Massey, Anne,Seago, Alex, Pop Art and Design Used for: stylistic analysis.
  11. [11] book Leonor de Oliveira;, Portuguese Artists in London Used for: stylistic analysis.
  12. [12] book Anfam, David A;Callen, Anthea. Techniques of the impressionists, Techniques of the great masters of art Used for: biography.

Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-07-02. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.

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