Author: Blake, William
Biography:
BLAKE, William (1757-1827: ODNB)
The third son of James Blake, a hosier, and his wife Catherine Armitage (a widow; her surname at birth was Wright), Blake was born on 28 Nov. 1757 at 28 Broad Street, London, and baptised at St. James’s Piccadilly, on 11 Dec. 1757. He early showed an aptitude for the arts and even as a child he spoke of having visionary experiences. On 4 Aug. 1772 he was apprenticed to James Basire, a London printmaker who was a member of the Royal Society and of the Royal Society of Antiquaries. After his apprenticeship he worked as a journeyman engraver and met other London artists including John Flaxman and Thomas Stothard. On 18 Aug. 1782 he married Catherine Sophia Boucher (1762-1831); they had no children. Flaxman helped Blake to publish his Poetical Sketches in 1783. The death of his younger brother, Robert, in 1787 inspired Blake to develop a method of relief etching which allowed him to work more fluidly and quickly; he was also able to incorporate words into his designs which he first did for Songs of Innocence (1789). Blake continued writing and producing his own books but he was also in demand from publishers who commissioned him to produce designs and engravings—for example, the illustrations for Edward Young’s (q.v.) Night Thoughts in 1795. Friendship with William Hayley (q.v.) led to a move in 1801 to Felpham, Sussex, where Hayley supplied Blake with commisions. They stayed until 1803 but Blake came to feel depressed and alienated from his visions—the source of his creative inspiration. Matters came to a head with an encounter with a soldier in the Blakes’ cottage garden; the soldier later accused Blake of uttering seditious threats. Although he was eventually acquitted this marked the beginning of a more uncertain period when, having moved back to London, he struggled to secure commissions. In 1809 he mounted an exhibition of his work at home but there were no sales and just one review—a hostile one. In his final years, friendship with John Linnell and other artists and admirers encouraged Blake to continue creating new work. He and Catherine were living at 3 Fountain Court, Strand, when Blake died on 12 Aug. 1827. He was buried on 17 Aug. 1827 at Bunhill Fields, Finsbury. In 1957 a bust of William Blake was installed in Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey. (ODNB 12 Sept. 2023)
Other Names:
- W. Blake