Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Chronology of William Blake as Represented by Major Works in the Morgan's Collection

AgeYear
 1757 
Born, 28 November; lived at 28 Broad Street, Golden Square
101767 
Began drawing lessons with Henry Pars
151772 
Apprenticed to James Basire at 31 Great Queen Street (completed seven years later, in August 1779)
221779 
Admitted to Royal Academy in October; studied as an engraver; exhibited in 1780, 1784, 1785, 1799, and 1808 
Began engravings for books published by Joseph Johnson (1738–1809) 1779–86 (sixteen plates for seven books); 1786–1801 (ninety plates)
251782 
Married Catherine Boucher, 18 August, in Battersea; moved to 23 Green Street, Leicester Fields
261783 
Poetical Sketches
271784 
Opened a print shop with James Parker at 27 Broad Street, probably in October; business dissolved in 1785
301787 
Death of his brother Robert
311788 
Etched There Is No Natural Religion, which probably was not printed until 1794
321789 
Songs of Innocence
The Book of Thel, which perhaps was not printed before 1791 
Engraved Satan
331790 
Moved to 13 Hercules Buildings, Lambeth The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (first book from Hercules Buildings)
361793 
Visions of the Daughters of Albion 
America
371794 
Songs of Innocence and of Experience 
Europe 
The First Book of Urizen
381795 
The Song of Los 
The Book of Los
401797 
Night Thoughts
431800 
Moved from Lambeth to Felpham, Sussex, 18 September; returned to 17 South Moulton St., London, in autumn 1803
46–471803–4 
Quarreled with a soldier in his garden at Felpham in August; tried for uttering seditious statements, 1803; cleared in a second trial, 1804 
Began Jerusalem, which probably was first printed 1820; last copy produced 1827
48–531805–10 
Created watercolor illustrations for the Book of Job for Thomas Butts
501807 
Pickering manuscript
511808 
The Grave
59–631816–20 
Created watercolors for Milton's L'Allegro and Il Penseroso for Thomas Butts
611818 
Met John Linnell
621819 
Began drawing visionary heads for Varley
631820 
On Homer's Poetry [and] On Virgil
63–681820–25 
For the Sexes: Gates of Paradise
641821 
Moved to 3 Fountain Court, Strand 
Publication of Thornton's Pastorals of Virgil
66–691823–26 
Began to engrave illustrations for the 
Book of Job, published by Linnell in 1826
671824 
Met the young artists who called themselves the Ancients in his honor
67–691824–27 
Blake's illustrations of Dante, of which only seven plates were produced; printed posthumously (1838)
691827 
Died 12 August; Catherine died 18 October 1831