Major Peter Blake Retrospective Comes to Pitzhanger Manor
The gallery will become an immersive recreation of the artist's studio
The much anticipated exhibition will recreate Peter Blake's studio
November 13, 2026
One of Britain's most celebrated living artists is bringing his world to Ealing this month as Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery prepares to host a major retrospective dedicated to Sir Peter Blake.
Opening on 25 November, Peter Blake: In the Studio will transform the gallery into an immersive recreation of the artist's West London workspace, offering visitors an unprecedented glimpse into the imagination and creative process of the man widely regarded as the father of British Pop Art.
The exhibition, which runs until 18 April 2027, will feature more than 150 works spanning Blake's remarkable seven-decade career. Paintings, collages, sculpture and works on paper will explore his lifelong fascination with popular culture, celebrity, music, film and collecting, while a selection of newly created works will be exhibited for the first time.
At the heart of the show is a recreation of Blake's studio, complete with the eclectic collection of curiosities, memorabilia and artefacts that have inspired his work for decades. Visitors will be able to step inside a space that is at once a working environment and a repository of the artist's obsessions, from pop culture memorabilia to treasured objects gathered over a lifetime.
Blake first emerged as a leading figure in the early 1960s alongside contemporaries including David Hockney, helping define a distinctly British form of Pop Art. He achieved worldwide recognition in 1967 when he and his then wife Jann Haworth created the iconic cover for The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
The exhibition also highlights Blake's enduring connection to West London. He first moved to Chiswick in 1957 before relocating to Somerset in 1969. Since returning to Chiswick in 1979, he has continued to live and work in the area with his wife Chrissy Blake.
Among the highlights are works reflecting Blake's fascination with entertainment and celebrity culture, including depictions of wrestlers, circus performers and Hollywood icons. Works such as Tokyo Giant, Mister Kyoto, Tattooed Lady, M.M. Black and LOVE trace the artist's engagement with everything from wrestling and fairgrounds to film stars and rock-and-roll legends.
Peter Blake 'LOVE', 2010-15
Visitors will also have the opportunity to see Late Period: 'Battle', the largest canvas Blake has ever created. Worked on over more than half a century, the monumental piece combines painting and collage in a densely populated scene featuring figures from across popular culture, including Elvis Presley and characters from classic Hollywood films.
The exhibition extends beyond Blake's own artworks to reveal the inspirations behind them. Displays of personal collectibles include the hat worn by Douglas Fairbanks in the 1922 film Robin Hood and an original mask belonging to wrestling star Kendo Nagasaki. A section devoted to Blake's artistic influences explores his tributes to figures including Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Kurt Schwitters and Joseph Cornell.
Local connections run throughout the exhibition. Curators have drawn links between Blake's interests and Ealing's rich cultural heritage, from the musical legacy of the Ealing Club to the area's long association with film through Ealing Studios. The exhibition also references William Hogarth, whose celebrated series A Rake's Progress once hung at Pitzhanger after being acquired by the architect Sir John Soane.
Peter Blake works referencing Hogarth's Marriage a la Mode (left) and The Reward of Cruelty (right)
Alongside familiar works, visitors will discover a significant body of new material. These include Pitzhanger Rose (2026), a watercolour inspired by a yellow rose growing in the Manor's gardens, and a series of previously unseen collages bringing recurring Blake characters, including Elvis and Kewpie dolls, into the setting of Pitzhanger itself.
Now aged 94, Blake continues to produce new work with the same curiosity and playful imagination that has characterised his career. The exhibition presents not only a survey of one of Britain's most influential artists but also a portrait of a creator whose enthusiasm for art, collecting and popular culture remains undimmed.
Rebecca Lyons, Director of Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery, said: "It is an honour and a privilege for Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery to host the work of such a legend in British art. Full of art historical and pop references, the works are a celebration of art making and artistic inspiration, and the show itself a tribute to one of the most iconic artists in Britain today."
Peter Blake: In the Studio has been curated by Jake Twyford and Louise Shorr and opens at Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery on 25 November.
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