POET, PAINTER, ENGRAVER, CREATOR OF ILLUMINATED BOOKS—NEW MORGAN EXHIBITION PRESENTS THE GENIUS OF WILLIAM BLAKE

Press release date: 
Saturday, August 1, 2009

SHOW INCLUDES THE SELDOM SEEN COMPLETE BOOK OF JOB WATERCOLOR SERIES—AMONG BLAKE'S GREATEST WORKS

William Blake's World: "A New Heaven Is Begun"
Opens September 11, 2009

Jeremy Irons Reading Blake Poetry Featured in Exhibition; Legendary Poet-Musician Patti Smith to Present Blake-Inspired Program

Visionary and nonconformist William Blake (1757–1827) is a singular figure in the history of Western art and literature: a poet, painter, and printmaker. Ambitiously creative, Blake had an abiding interest in theology and philosophy, which, during the age of revolution, inspired thoroughly original and personal investigations into the state of man and his soul. In his lifetime Blake was best known as an engraver; he was later recognized for his innovations across many other disciplines.