Peter Blake BRITISH, b. 1932

Widely regarded as the godfather of British Pop art and the Young British Artists movement, Peter Blake creates paintings, collages, and prints that blend modernity and nostalgia. Though best known for designing the album cover for the Beatles’ "Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band", he considers painting to be central to his oeuvre. While celebrity figures inform his work, folk art, fairground signs, and an overall sense of nostalgia also influence his style. In 1997, at the age of 65, Blake emotionally retired from painting, he said, and entered what he calls his late period. He continues to work but is no longer interested in the art world’s opinion of his art, instead creating what he wants regardless of its relation to his previous paintings.