House of Illustration is the UK s only public gallery and education space dedicated solely to illustration and graphic arts. Our dynamic programme of exhibitions brings together works from public and little-seen private collections from across the world. We explore illustration in all its forms from advertising to animation, picture books to political cartoons and fashion illustration to architecture.
We are currently seeking touring partners for a series of exciting new exhibitions for the period 2018 to 2021. Our exhibitions are available at a range of sizes and price points, and include mounted and framed original artwork or reproductions, interpretive exhibition graphics, marketing resources and support from our curatorial team. If you are interested in finding out more about our available exhibitions, please contact: Katie Nairne, Exhibitions and Touring Officer: katie.nairne@houseofillustration.org.uk 020 3696 2027
An international bestseller even before its release in September 2016, The Tale of Kitty in Boots was written by Beatrix Potter before the First World War, but remained unpublished until over 100 years later. Potter only completed one illustration for the tale, and so the book was illustrated by Quentin Blake. This collaboration of two of Britain's most iconic authorillustrators is celebrated in this exhibition, which features the complete original illustrations for the book alongside Blake's sketchbook and preliminary sketches, and interpretive material that reveals Potter's development of the story.
Gerald Scarfe (b.1936) is the UK s most prominent political cartoonist, known for his acerbic and uncompromising satire. His work has appeared in print in The Sunday Times for 45 years, however his unmistakable characters and worlds are given new life on stage and screen. This exhibition at House of Illustration will be the first in the UK to explore Scarfe s extensive work in animation and theatre and costume design. It will feature preliminary sketches, storyboards, costume and set designs, photographs, ephemera, costumes, set pieces and animation cels.
For the first time since the 1970s, Quentin Blake s playful drawings of women avoiding or embracing Cupid s arrow will be exhibited at House of Illustration. From humorous to poignant, these sketches reflect on the nature of love and relationships with Quentin Blake s inimitable, expressive line.
Made in North Korea: Everyday Graphics from the DPRK gives an extraordinary and rare insight into everyday life in the Democratic People s Republic of Korea, through hundreds of everyday objects including food packaging, ticket stubs and stamps, together with hand-painted propaganda posters and comics. The exhibition displays the collection of Nicholas Bonner, the foremost expert on North Korean graphic culture, tourism and film, who has led tours to the country for 25 years. Co-curated by Bonner, the exhibition follows the release of his book Made in North Korea: Graphics from Everyday Life in the DPRK (Phaidon).
Quentin Blake has had a number of extended collaborations with writers, but the longest of all has been with John Yeoman. House of Illustration s 50 Years of Children s Books exhibition will be the first to celebrate this partnership. Their first book was A Drink of Water in 1960, which launched Quentin Blake s career in children s book illustration. The original drawings for this, and 11 other books selected by the pair, will feature in the exhibition, which will consist of over 100 works overall. They include stories for all ages from classic fables to newly imagined tales.
Sir Quentin Blake (b.1932) is the UK s most esteemed graphic artist, best known as the author and illustrator of more than 300 books. This exhibition offers a view of Blake s equally prolific, but previously unseen practice as a figurative artist that has run parallel to his work in graphic arts and literature since the 1950s.
Never before seen in public, Quentin Blake s beautiful black and white illustrations for Cyrano de Bergerac s Voyages to the Moon and the Sun will be part of a touring exhibition for House of Illustration, available to hire from September 2018. Cyrano de Bergerac s classic work, first published in Paris in the 17 th century, served as inspiration for many famous fantasy adventure stories such as Gulliver s Travels. Its hero travels the solar system meeting strange characters and discussing new ideas. The illustrated edition was originally published by The Folio Society in 1991, and is now being re-editioned to coincide with the opening of the exhibition at House of Illustration.