Charles Blackman
Most painters who became obsessed with Alice in Wonderland did so as an intellectual exercise. Charles Blackman started reading Lewis Carroll aloud to his wife Barbara, who was losing her sight, and the book's imagery of a girl navigating a world that refused to make sense lodged itself in his work for years. The resulting Alice series, painted through the 1950s, remains his most celebrated achievement: a sequence of dreamy, unnerving canvases in which wide-eyed figures float through environments where scale and logic have broken down entirely.
Biography
Born in Sydney in 1928[1], Blackman was self-taught. While developing his *Schoolgirl* paintings, another sustained series depicting anonymous girls in straw hats moving through an unsettling urban world, he worked as a cook at a Melbourne art café. The double life suited someone whose paintings refused the confident gestures of abstract expressionism, which was dominating serious galleries at the time. When he signed the Antipodean Manifesto in 1959[1] alongside Arthur Boyd and others, it was a deliberate argument for figurative painting as a viable, serious form.
The Helena Rubenstein travelling scholarship took him to London in 1960[1], and he later lived and worked in Paris at the Cité internationale des arts. Recognition accumulated steadily: an OBE in 1977, retrospectives, and a robust secondary market in which his *Alice* works regularly reach six-figure sums at auction. His portrait by Jon Molvig won the Archibald Prize in 1966. He had six children, several of whom became artists.
Blackman died in Sydney in August 2018[1], aged 90. The schoolgirls and the Alice figures outlasted nearly every fashionable movement of his long career.
Timeline
- 1928Born in Sydney.
- 1950Painted the "Alice" series, which became his most celebrated work.
- 1950Developed his "Schoolgirl" paintings while working as a cook in Melbourne.
- 1959Signed the Antipodean Manifesto with Arthur Boyd and others, arguing for figurative painting.
- 1960Moved to London after receiving the Helena Rubenstein travelling scholarship.
- 1966Jon Molvig's portrait of Blackman won the Archibald Prize.
- 1977Awarded an OBE.
- 2018Died in Sydney at 90.
Notable Works
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Related Artists
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Charles Blackman known for?
Charles Blackman is best known for his *Alice in Wonderland* series, painted throughout the 1950s. These paintings depict dreamy, unnerving scenes with wide-eyed figures in environments where scale and logic are disrupted. He is also known for his *Schoolgirl* paintings, which portray anonymous girls in straw hats in unsettling urban settings.Who was Charles Blackman?
Charles Blackman was an Australian[1] self-taught painter, born in Sydney in 1928[1]. He is known for his figurative paintings and was a signatory of the Antipodean Manifesto in 1959[1], which argued for figurative painting as a serious art form. Charles Blackman died in Sydney in August 2018[1] at the age of 90.What was Charles Blackman's art style?
Blackman's paintings refused the confident gestures of abstract expressionism. His *Alice* series features dreamy, unnerving canvases in which wide-eyed figures float through environments where scale and logic have broken down entirely. The *Schoolgirl* paintings also depict an unsettling urban world.When was Charles Blackman born?
Charles Blackman was born in 1928[1].
Sources
Editorial draws on the following primary and tertiary references for Charles Blackman.
- [1] wikipedia Wikipedia: Charles Blackman Used for: biography, birth dates, death dates, identifiers, movement attribution, nationality.
- [2] book Beard, Lee, 1973- author, Butler, Adam, author; Van Cleave, Claire, author; Fortenberry, Diane, author; Stirling, Susan, author, Beard, Lee, 1973- author, Butler, Adam, author; Van Cleave, Claire, author; Fortenberry, Diane, author; Stirling, Susan, author - The Art Book_ New Edition, Mini Format Used for: biography.
- [3] book guggenheim-australianvision00wald Used for: biography.
- [4] book Martin Gascoigne, Rosalie Gascoigne: A Catalogue Raisonné Used for: biography, stylistic analysis.
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