![A Warring Angel [recto], William Blake, c. 1780](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/cf1212c2-55b6-4c3e-ac70-6bc0db48154a/full/!1600,1600/0/default.jpg)
William BlakeBritish, 1757–1827May one see it?
Washington, D.C., United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
1757–1782 · Residence
Broadwick Street
August 1779 · Education
Royal Academy of Arts
1781
Meets Catherine Boucher
In 1781, recovering from a relationship that had ended in a refusal of his marriage proposal, Blake told the story of his heartbreak to Catherine Boucher and her parents and asked whether she pitied him. When she said yes, he declared: “Then I love you.”
July 1782 – August 1782 · Residence
Battersea
18 August 1782
Marries Catherine Boucher
On 18 August 1782, at St Mary's Church, Battersea, Blake married Catherine Boucher, who was five years his junior; illiterate, she signed the marriage contract with an X. The marriage was successful, and Catherine became his “partner in both life and work”, working as an engraver and colourist.
August 1782 – 1784 · Residence
Green Street