'Quentin Blake is without doubt Britain’s best-known and best-loved living illustrator' - Sir Christopher Frayling
'[Reveals a] gentle whimsicality ... has an utterly distinctive personal line, recognisable at a glance' - Martin Gayford, The Spectator
'A handsome 90th-birthday celebration of Mr. Blake's life and work' - The Wall Street Journal
'Richly detailed' - The New York Review of Books
'A visual feast and an engaging biography of the artist most known for illustrating Roald Dahl’s books... A work of art to slowly take in and a fascinating peek into the life of an iconic artist' - School Library Journal
Quentin Blake is an artist who has charmed and inspired generations of readers. Tracing Blake’s art and career from his very first drawings – published in Punch when he was 16 – through his collaborations with writers from Roald Dahl and John Yeoman to Russell Hoban and David Walliams, to his large-scale works for hospitals and public spaces and right up to his most recent passions and projects, acclaimed author Jenny Uglow here presents a fully illustrated overview of Quentin Blake’s extraordinary body of work, with accompanying commentary by the artist himself.
With unprecedented access to the artist’s entire archive, The Quentin Blake Book reveals the stories behind some of Blake’s most famous creations, while also providing readers with an intimate insight into the unceasing creativity of this remarkable artist.
1. Youngest Contributor: Making a start
2. A Drink of Water: A lifetime of collaborations
3. Dancing Frogs: From Patrick to Mr Filkins
4. With Roald Dahl: The Odd Couple
5. Don Quixote to Godot: Classics and treasures
6. Up the Wall: Public spaces and hospitals
7. Solo Sequences: Personal series, for exhibitions
8. Twilight and Sunlight: Personal series, from book to gallery and back
9. Worrying Times: Some feeling of sympathy
10. Imaginary Portraits: Discovery through drawing
11. The Joy of Biro: The unexpected line
Authors note