William Blake

BLAKE, William. b. 28 November 1757; d. 12 August 1827. Born in London, the son of a hosier. He did not go to school (‘Thank God, I never was sent to school/ To be flogged into following the style of a fool’) but attended a drawing school and in 1772 was apprenticed to James Basire, engraver to the Society of Antiquaries. He became a student at the Royal Academy in 1779. With the help of friends he set up a print shop in Broad Street, London, in 1784, and for the remainder of his life he earned a precarious living as an engraver. He was also supported by enlightened patrons and friends such as William Hayley, who rented a cottage for him at Felpham, Sussex, 1800-1803, where he wrote much of...

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