Blake, Quentin (1932-…), is an English artist, illustrator, author, and teacher who is known for his writings and illustrations for children. He has produced more than 200 books for children, including books with his own pictures and text as well as illustrations for books by British and American authors. Blake’s distinctive “scratchy” pen-and-ink drawings have a cartoon quality. They are recognizable for their lively humor, their ability to enhance the narrative of a story, and their sense of atmosphere.
Blake’s first illustrated book was A Drink of Water (1960), published with text by John Yeoman. Some of Blake’s best-known work resulted from his successful partnership with the author Roald Dahl. Blake and Dahl’s books, which are regarded as children’s classics, include The Witches (1983), which was the winner of the 1983 Whitbread Award (now the Costa Literary Award), and Matilda (1988), which was awarded the United Kingdom Smarties Prize. Blake has also illustrated stories and poems by a number of other major authors for children, notably Joan Aiken, Michael Rosen, and Russell Hoban. He has produced cartoons and drawings for such magazines as Punch and The Spectator.
The first book that Blake wrote and illustrated was Patrick (1968). Mister Magnolia was published in 1980 and won the 1981 Kate Greenaway Medal, the premier award in the United Kingdom for children’s book illustration. Mister Magnolia became one of the best-known characters in modern British children’s fiction. Blake’s later books include Zagazoo (1998), The Green Ship (1998), and Fantastic Daisy Artichoke (1999). His picture book Clown (1995) achieved great critical acclaim and won the 1996 Bologna Ragazzi Prize at the Bologna Book Fair in Italy. Blake also produced a book with John Cassidy about learning to draw, Drawing for the Artistically Undiscovered (1999). Blake illustrated The Boy in the Dress (2009), written by David Walliams, and Bananas in My Ears: A Collection of Nonsense Stories, Poems, Riddles, and Rhymes (2012), written by Michael Rosen. Blake also illustrated Kitty-in-Boots, a rediscovered tale written by Beatrix Potter in 1914 and released in 2016.
Quentin Saxby Blake was born on Dec. 16, 1932, in Kent, England, and was educated at Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School, Kent. He studied English at Downing College, Cambridge University. Blake trained as a teacher at the University of London and then studied drawing part-time at Chelsea School of Art in London. In 1957, Blake became a free-lance illustrator and teacher. He taught at the Royal College of Art in London from 1965 to 1986, becoming head of the department of illustration in 1978. In 1989, he became a visiting professor at the Royal College of Art. Blake was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1988. In 1999, Blake was appointed as the first children’s laureate of the United Kingdom. See Children’s laureate. This post has a tenure of two years. It was established in 1999 to honor the lifetime achievement of a writer or illustrator for children and to promote the interests of children’s books.
