House of Illustration claims a place as the world’s only public gallery dedicated solely to illustration and graphic art, putting on 10 exhibitions a year, running an education programme for children and adults, working with schools, and much more.
This fundraising sale on December 11-12 featured leading artists choosing a book to which they felt a strong connection and then creating for it a new dust jacket or related art work.
In all, the 33-lot sale raised £128,950, and two of the more successful entries are pictured here. Both were the work of artists and illustrators by the name of Blake – both of whom have been knighted in recent times.
Blake 1
Sir Peter Blake, knighted in 2002 for services to art, was one of the founders of British Pop Art and perhaps best known to many for his artwork on the Beatles LP, Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Sir Peter’s entry was a jacket design for an 1872, first US edition of Through the Looking Glass…. It sold for £12,000.
Blake 2
Sir Quentin Blake, knighted in 2013, contributed a couple of entries, the most successful of which, at £11,000, was a jacket designed for an 1833, first edition of Frederick Shoberl’s English translation translation of Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Quasimodo is seen swinging from his great bell on the rear cover.
