A short life of the author
Quentin Blake (born 1932) is the most recognizable illustrator in British children’s literature. His scratchy, energetic ink-and-watercolor drawings — characters with wild hair, enormous noses, and bodies that seem to be in constant motion — have illustrated over three hundred books, and his partnership with Roald Dahl produced some of the most iconic images in children’s publishing. When anyone pictures the BFG, Matilda, or the Twits, they picture Blake’s drawings.
Life and Career
Quentin Saxby Blake was born on 16 December 1932 in Sidcup, Kent. He had his first drawing published in Punch magazine at age sixteen. He studied English at Downing College, Cambridge, then attended the Chelsea School of Art. He became a freelance illustrator while teaching at the Royal College of Art, where he led the Illustration department from 1978 to 1986.
Blake’s career divides into two broad categories: his work as an author-illustrator of his own books and his work illustrating other writers’ texts. In the first category, Mister Magnolia (1980, Kate Greenaway Medal winner), Clown (1995, a wordless picture book about a discarded toy clown), The Green Ship (1998), and Angel Pavement (2004) are highlights. His own stories tend toward warmth, absurdity, and a gentle celebration of eccentricity.
But it is his work with Roald Dahl that defines his public identity. Blake illustrated Dahl’s major children’s books beginning with The Enormous Crocodile (1978) and continuing through The Twits (1980), The BFG (1982), The Witches (1983), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1995 re-illustrated edition), Matilda (1988), and others. Blake’s illustrations became so closely associated with Dahl that earlier editions illustrated by other artists (Joseph Schindelman, Faith Jaques) fell out of favor commercially.
Beyond Dahl, Blake has illustrated books by Russell Hoban, Joan Aiken, Michael Rosen, John Yeoman, and many others. He was appointed the first British Children’s Laureate (1999–2001) and was knighted in 2013. He has also produced large-scale works for hospitals, galleries, and public spaces, and his Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration opened in London in 2022.
Key Works (as author-illustrator)
- Mister Magnolia (1980)
- Clown (1995)
- The Green Ship (1998)
Collecting Blake
Original Quentin Blake artwork is extremely collectible — watercolors and ink drawings bring £2,000–£50,000+ at auction. Signed books are relatively available since Blake has been a generous signer throughout his career. First editions of his Dahl illustrations — particularly The BFG (1982), The Witches (1983), and Matilda (1988), all signed by Blake — are valuable at $100–$500. Blake-Dahl double-signed copies are premium items. His own author-illustrated books in first edition are more modestly priced. Mister Magnolia (Cape, 1980) first edition signed brings $50–$150.