Signed, dated and inscribed to lower part of sheet: “Little Chip” the smallest comedian in the world. From “The Encore” March 31^st 1893/Peter Blake/May 1970

Sepia wash over pencil, 28 by 21 cm (11 by 8 ¼ ins)

Provenance: given by the artist to Francis Greenacre (curator of the first retrospective exhibition of Peter Blake’s work held at the City Art Gallery, Bristol) in 1970. He later assisted in retrospectives at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, in 1973, travelling to Hamburg, Brussels and Arnhem

This drawing, apparently taken from late Victorian magazine, relates to Blake’s enduring interest in popular enterainment, circuses and side shows in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Out of this would result a notable set of prints called Side Show which recall the popular entertainers, wrestlers and circus performers he remembered from his youth. These would include such figures as Tattooed Lady, the Strongest Man in the World, Bearded Lady, Smallest Man in the World, Fat Lady and Thin Man. Blake has written of these subjects: “There’s a whole background to it, but really it’s a class thing, a working class thing. When I was a kid these were my interests – the fairgrounds, circuses, rock’n’roll. So, at a certain point in making art, when I had to make a decision about what to do, I thought, “be autobiographical ”.