Sir Quentin Blake, the renowned children's author and illustrator, has unveiled a new mural in north London ahead of the opening of the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration in Clerkenwell on June 5.
The 93-year-old artist, best known for illustrating Roald Dahl's books, visited the centre to reveal his artwork titled A Bridge To The Past. The mural, created in ink and scaled up for the centre's cafe wall, depicts a bridge over the New River, which has supplied water to London since 1613.
Sir Quentin said: 'I was especially pleased to be asked to produce a mural for Quentin Blake Centre's cafe. You will see that I have drawn a bridge. It does not actually exist but I needed one to act as a bridge to the past.' He added that the figures crossing the bridge are invented, except for two men fishing borrowed from an 18th-century print by Scottish painter Isaac Cruikshank.
The mural evokes the social history of the river and the enduring relationship between people and water. Sir Quentin established a charity for illustration in 2002 and aimed to create the UK's first public venue dedicated to illustration.
Opening next month, the centre will feature three galleries with regularly changing exhibitions, making it reportedly the world's largest space for illustration. It also includes a free illustration library, gardens, a cafe and a shop. To celebrate, the first 50 people to illustrate an official voucher collected on-site on opening day will receive free tickets.
