Artists : Sir Peter Blake

Since his emergence in the early 1960s as a key member of the burgeoning Pop Art movement, Peter Blake has been one of the best-known British artists of his generation. He remains one of the very few artists who have achieved both genuine popularity and critical appreciation. His 1961 'Self-portrait With Badges' (Tate, London), where he stands in his denim jeans and jacket, wearing Converse trainers and holding an Elvis album, is one of the iconic images of the time, but Blake's reputation from the outset, reflecting his broad art education, was based on working across media. He has produced collage, sculpture, engraving and printmaking, as well as commercial art in the form of graphics.