Wednesday 28 August 2019
Mervyn Peake (1911 - 1968) has been chosen as the next recipient of a Blue Plaque. The plaque will be unveiled by the Seigneur at The Gallery Stores in Sark on Friday 30th August at noon.
Mervyn Peake is best remembered for his writing, in particular the Gormenghast books, but he was also a poet, illustrator and artist.
Peake first went to Sark in 1932 on the invitation of his former English teacher, Eric Drake who was setting up an artist's colony on the island. A year later Peake left London and returned to Sark to join Drake's colony - The Sark Group.
Alongside the other members of the Sark Group, Mervyn helped to build the 'purpose built modernist gallery of pink and blue concrete' and it was where he lived and worked in his studio. Peake also exhibited at The Gallery and was part of the opening exhibition on 30th August 1933.
By 1935 Peake had returned to London but Sark was never far from his mind. In 1946, after the Second World War he returned to Sark with his wife, the artist and writer Maeve Gilmore, and his two sons - Sebastian and Fabian. They lived in Le Chalet (now Clos de Vin) for five years, during which time his daughter Clare was born. Gilmore later wrote 'the years we spent on Sark were the most memorable of our life together'.
While on the island Peake wrote Gormenghast, the second of his Titus books and Letters from a Lost Uncle. He wrote poetry and also carried out a number of major commissions for book illustrations such as Treasure Island and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Sark also inspired his work, providing the backdrop for his later novel Mr Pye and is depicted in hundreds of his paintings and drawings, some of which are held at the Guernsey Museum.
While isolation in Sark proved ideal for working as a writer and artist it was not conducive to making contacts or getting commissions. Peake and his family left the island in 1949. In 1956 Peake returned to write the third Titus book Titus Alone and a year later he took the family to Sark for their last summer holiday on the island which he loved.
The Gormenghast novels attained cult status during the late 1960s. They have been translated into over twenty languages and have never been out of print. His paintings are included in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery and the Imperial War Museum.
This will be Guernsey Museum's ninth Blue Plaque and has the full support of the Peake family.
The Guernsey Blue Plaque scheme recognises Guernsey people who have made an important contribution to the Bailiwick and the wider world. The Scheme aims to enhance the awareness of islanders and visitors about these special people and where they lived or worked.
