Peter Blake: focusing on his portraits
Portraits of people he has met, been close to, and admired
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Peter Blake’s first exhibition to focus on portraiture opens in London later this month. The majority of the portraits are new or have not been exhibited before. For Blake, it is “a very personal show” and “one I have wanted to do for a long time, bringing together portraits of people I have met, and been close to, and others I have admired”. They include colourful watercolours of heavily tattooed men, created from found pictures and Blake’s imagination, including Krankie the Klown (2015), based on a Robert De Niro picture.
Others of inked women include Tattooed Woman 3 (2015) with butterflies and Tattooed Woman 4 (2015) with the names “Harry” and “William” tattooed on her chest. He also continues his series of wrestlers, which he started in 1961, including oil paintings of female wrestlers.
Older works that have not been seen before, include paintings of the fashion designer Paul Smith and Helen Mirren, who sat for Blake in the early Eighties, while starring in Cleopatra. Blake usually paints portraits from photographs – so this was a rare occurrence.
In Blake’s portraits, the most important thing, he says, “is to show a likeness both visually and also through more intimate aspects of a subject’s appearance, their stance and the objects that surround them in their home”. Working from photographs allows Blake “to pick up on minute details of their appearance and to work on the portraits for an extended period of time, which would not be possible from short sittings”.
The centre-piece of the exhibition is a three-panelled Elvis Shrine: Portraits, Landscapes or Still Lifes? that Blake has been working on for over 20 years, which features Elvis busts, portraits and memorabilia.
Peter Blake: Portraits and People is at Waddington Custot Galleries, London, W1. (waddingtoncustot.com) 24 November to 30 January
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments