Babe Rainbow
Print
1968 (made)
1968 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
'Babe Rainbow, a fictitious lady wrestler, is the most recent in a line of wrestlers I have painted', said Peter Blake. 'These include Irish Lord X, Doktor K Tortur, Kamikaze and Les Orchidées Noires. She is twenty-three years old and has broken her nose in the ring. She was born in New Cross, London and wrestles mainly in Europe and the USA as there have only been a few contests between lady wrestlers in London. She is the daughter of the notorious Doktor K Tortur.'
Born in Kent, Blake trained at the Royal College of Art. As a student he became fascinated with magazine covers, fairground art and similar popular ephemera. He utilised such material in collages and became a leading figure in British 'Pop' art of the 1960s. Blake's most famous work is the cover design for the Beatles LP Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. 'Babe Rainbow' was commissioned in an edition of 1000 by Dodo Designs in 1968. Unusually for the time it was printed on tin.
Born in Kent, Blake trained at the Royal College of Art. As a student he became fascinated with magazine covers, fairground art and similar popular ephemera. He utilised such material in collages and became a leading figure in British 'Pop' art of the 1960s. Blake's most famous work is the cover design for the Beatles LP Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. 'Babe Rainbow' was commissioned in an edition of 1000 by Dodo Designs in 1968. Unusually for the time it was printed on tin.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Babe Rainbow (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | screen-print on tinplate. |
| Brief description | 'Babe Rainbow' by Peter Blake; screen-print on tinplate; 1968 |
| Physical description | Image of a woman wearing a white bikini, a headress with a rainbow motif, a necklace featuring the Union Jack and 'England', a belt featuring the St George's Cross and 'London', and a belt with various badges including one inscribed with 'In memory of the good old days 1788', one with a face in profile, one with a ship 'RM.S Berencaria', and one in the shape of a flower. Underneath the image are the words 'Babe Rainbow'. The border of the image is a rainbow. Printed on tinplate. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Production type | Limited edition |
| Marks and inscriptions |
|
| Credit line | Purchased through the Julie and Robert Breckman Print Fund |
| Production | Attribution note: of around 1000 |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Place depicted | |
| Summary | 'Babe Rainbow, a fictitious lady wrestler, is the most recent in a line of wrestlers I have painted', said Peter Blake. 'These include Irish Lord X, Doktor K Tortur, Kamikaze and Les Orchidées Noires. She is twenty-three years old and has broken her nose in the ring. She was born in New Cross, London and wrestles mainly in Europe and the USA as there have only been a few contests between lady wrestlers in London. She is the daughter of the notorious Doktor K Tortur.' Born in Kent, Blake trained at the Royal College of Art. As a student he became fascinated with magazine covers, fairground art and similar popular ephemera. He utilised such material in collages and became a leading figure in British 'Pop' art of the 1960s. Blake's most famous work is the cover design for the Beatles LP Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. 'Babe Rainbow' was commissioned in an edition of 1000 by Dodo Designs in 1968. Unusually for the time it was printed on tin. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.35-2006 |
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| Record created | June 30, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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