Eight works by the master Romantic revolutionary to go on show at Tate Britain in July 2010.
Eight hand-coloured etchings by the incomparably wonderful William Blake have just been purchased for Tate Collection with help from Tate Members, Tate Patrons and independent charity, The Art Fund.
The works were believed to have been lost until, extraordinarily, they turned up inside a railway timetable in a box of second-hand books purchased from a local sale in the late 1970s. The anonymous owner offered the works to Tate in a single group for £441,000.
This acquisition consists of eight etchings: six from bizarre prophetic work The First Book of Urizen, one from the mythological poem The Book of Thel and one from The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, probably one of the greatest (and most underrated poems ever published).
William Blake is one of the most singular artists in Britain’s history. As both forerunner to Romantic poets such as Wordsworth, Coleridge and Shelley, Blake’s position in the canon of great poets is undisputed. But his revolutionary printing techniques, simultaneously sophisticated and childlike images, and creation of an entire personal religious system set him apart as a truly inspirational artist too. Truly a visionary genius, and it’ll be great to see these works on display to the public once more.
Stephen Deuchar, Director of The Art Fund, said: “These powerful etchings reveal the immense technical skill of William Blake, as well as his legendary imaginative range, and the story behind their discovery makes this acquisition all the more exciting.”
The new works will be on display at Tate Britain from July 2010.
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Image credit: Nebuchadnezzar 1795/circa 1805, Colour print finished in ink and watercolour on paper support: 543 x 725 mm frame: 661 x 829 x 50 mm on paper, unique.
Presented by W. Graham Robertson 1939
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