Sir Peter Blake Receives H onorary Degree of Doctor of Humanities

Renowned Chiswick artist recognised for his outstanding services to the arts

Sir Peter Blake has received an honorary degree of Doctor of Humanities, from Brunel University in recognition of his outstanding services to the arts.

The renowned pop artist who lives in Chiswick with his wife Chrissie was born in Dartford in 1932.

He studied at the Royal College of Art in the 1950s and held his first solo exhibition in 1960. The Young Contemporaries exhibition of 1961 showed his work alongside emerging pop artists David Hockney and R B Kitaj.

Peter won the John Moores junior award in 1961, and featured in Ken Russell’s film on pop art Pop Goes the Easel, broadcast on BBC TV in 1962.

His exhibitions have included a one-man show at the Portal Gallery (1962) and retrospectives at The Tate Gallery in London (1983) and Liverpool (2007).

He is probably best known for his design of album covers, including The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas?, the Ian Dury tribute album Brand New Boots and Panties (2001) and Oasis’ greatest hits album Stop the Clocks (2006). In February 2005, the Sir Peter Blake Music Art Gallery at the University of Leeds was opened, featuring examples of his album sleeve art.

Other works have included posters for Live Aid and Live 8 and the creation of bronze sculptures for Blackpool promenade. Marco Livingstone’s Peter Blake: One Man Show was published in 2009.

Peter Blake taught at the Royal College of Art for many years and in 1998 was awarded an honorary doctorate by the institution. He was appointed CBE in 1983, and was awarded a knighthood in 2002.

July 23, 2010