William Blake (1757–1827)

“No exhibition of artist-authors could be complete without an example from the hand of William Blake. This technical innovator and master of printmaking is perhaps the most influential figure in the development of the English print and is of major importance in the English literary tradition. Disclaiming the simple signature as impossible for an artist ‘who has Studied in the Florentine & Roman Schools,’ Blake wrote in the album of the librarian-antiquary William Upcott that his autograph should be classed with ‘Works of Art & not Nature or Chance.’”—Lola Szladits