100 Figures

Quentin Blake’s illustrations are instantly recognizable to millions around the world. What are less well-known, though, are his original works of art, those not created as book illustrations. Published to accompany an exhibition at London’s House of Illustration, this book explores, for the first time, 100 works ranging from large-scale oil paintings to drawings and prints, created between the 1950s and today. The works date back to Blake’s postgraduate years in the 1950s when he struggled to make a living as an illustrator and took life-drawing classes at Chelsea School of Art, where he first engaged with the human figure. Soon, he found he was able to draw it from memory in any pose, working from the vivid imagination that has made his work so appealing and successful.