Born in Berlin, Blake emigrated to England with his family when Hitler assumed power, then to the United States when WWII began. He was curator of modern architecture and design at the Museum of Modern Art, New York 1948-1950, then was the editor of Architectural Forum 1950-1972. He designed many private houses in the Hamptons, New York, in the 1950s and 1960s, and authored many books on modern architecture.