Sir Quentin Blake's two-decade-long dream to create the UK's first permanent space for illustration has finally become a reality. The celebrated illustrator, now 93, best known for his collaborations with Roald Dahl, founded the House of Illustration in 2002. This vision has now evolved into the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration, located in a former waterworks in Clerkenwell, central London.
A New Home for Illustration
Opening on Friday, the centre boasts three exhibition spaces, a cafe, shop, gardens, and free areas including a library with over 1,800 books and a creative studio. One gallery is dedicated to Blake's own work, with the inaugural exhibition titled Performance. This showcase explores theatrical influences and features more than 100 original and rarely seen drawings.
Highlights include a caricature of Laurence Olivier in The Entertainer, drawn to accompany a theatre review in 1957, and pieces created for a Folio Society edition of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot. The exhibition also includes illustrations and preliminary drawings for The Enormous Crocodile (1978), the first Dahl book Blake illustrated.
A Long-Awaited Dream
Centre director Lindsey Glen told the Press Association: 'In 2002 Quentin Blake first had the idea of a national centre for illustration. He could see that illustration was something that's in all our lives and has been throughout time, but really has been very much overlooked in public art spaces. So he set about doing something about that, a place with illustration above the door, and finally, almost 25 years later, that dream is becoming a reality.'
After 'outgrowing' a previous space in King's Cross, Glen noted a 'huge appetite' for such a venue. The derelict site has been transformed, with London's oldest surviving windmill now used for residency programmes.
The Importance of Illustration
Glen emphasised the significance of showcasing illustration: 'It's been used throughout time to share stories and ideas, to try and persuade us, to instruct us. It's absolutely a fundamental part of human communication, and yet there's been no one place where you could come to explore it, and now today there is.'
Sir Quentin's career began with a publication in Punch magazine in 1949 while still at school. He has since worked on more than 500 books, amassing over 50,000 pieces in his archives. Artistic director Olivia Ahmad faced the daunting task of selecting works for the first exhibition.
Performance and Process
Ahmad explained the choice of Performance: 'Quentin is an illustrator who uses ink and paper but needs to cast the characters, design the costumes and sets, and decide the actions. Thinking about performance is fundamental to his work. Performers often appear in his work—harlequins, acrobats, clowns—from the 1950s to now.'
Visitors will see familiar works alongside pieces even Blake 'hasn't seen for a long time'. Ahmad described drawing as 'like breathing for him'. She attributes his enduring appeal to his storytelling ability: 'He's great at telling a story, with a fluid, gestural drawing line. The lines aren't joined up, and colours fly out, giving great movement and excitement.'
Additional Exhibitions
The centre's opening also features Murugiah's first solo show, Ever Feel Like, drawing on his Sri Lankan heritage and Welsh upbringing, blending Hollywood film references with Sri Lankan motifs. Another exhibition, Queer as Comics, is the UK's first major exhibition on queer comic-making, spanning the 1940s to the present.
Glen hopes visitors leave 'looking differently at the world around them', noticing everyday illustrations and understanding their persuasive and storytelling power. She added: 'We want everyone to know they too can be an illustrator with simple tools—torn paper, pencil, pen, or digital media—to tell their own story.'
Last week, Sir Quentin, who continues to draw daily, visited the centre. Glen said: 'He has been the most incredible, tireless, and generous champion of illustration, utterly committed to making this project happen, and he is thrilled.'
