CHARLES BLACKMAN
Sydney, Australia | 1928 -2018
Charles Blackman was one of Australia’s most celebrated figurative artists, renowned for his evocative and often dreamlike imagery. His distinctive work explored themes of childhood, imagination, isolation and the human experience, most famously through his Schoolgirl and Alice in Wonderland series.
Over a career spanning more than 60 years, Blackman received numerous awards and honours, including the Rowney prize for drawing in 1959, the Helena Rubenstein Scholarship in 1960, the Dyeson Endowment Award and the Crouch Prize. His work is held in all Australian state and most regional galleries, institutional and private collections.
His distinctive imagery has influenced generations of emerging and established Australian artists. Recurring motifs of children, flowers, gardens and cats reflect themes of dreams, emotion and compassion. A great Romantic artist, Blackman created a deeply personal world in which imagination and emotion remain at the heart of his work.
