House of Illustration’s inaugural exhibition was Inside Stories, a landmark show by Quentin Blake, one of the UK’s most important and best-loved illustrators, whose work is recognised worldwide.

This exhibition offered a unique insight into the origins of some of Blake’s most characteristic and popular creations, from his illustrations to Roald Dahl's The Twits and Danny the Champion of the World to his own Clown and The Boy in The Dress by David Walliams, together with illustrations to books by John Yeoman, Russell Hoban and Michael Rosen.

The exhibition brought together first roughs and storyboards, many never shown before, with finished artwork to demonstrate how ideas evolved, often in close collaboration with the authors.

It showed how Blake brings to bear a wide range of different techniques and media including inks, watercolours and pastels applied with a variety of touch, in response to the particular mood of a book and the nature of its characters, to create his distinctive and unforgettable illustrations.