Blake, Peter (1932– )

English painter, sculptor, and designer. He was one of the leading exponents of pop art and his work evokes the spirit of the ‘swinging sixties’. In particular he is remembered as the designer of the cover of the Beatles' album Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967).

Blake's main training was at the Royal College of Art (1953–56). At this time he was influenced by folk and popular art, but by the end of the decade he was more concerned with mainstream pop-art subjects such as film stars and singing idols. From 1975 to 1983 he was a member of the Brotherhood of Ruralists, a group of seven painters who aimed to evoke ‘the spirit of the countryside’. From 1994 to 1996 he was Associate Artist at the National Gallery. He was knighted in 2002.