Lewis Carroll would have recognised a kindred spirit in Charles Blackman. Not only both prone to “wells of fancy”, Carroll and Blackman were unwitting collaborators in envisioning Wonderland – the setting for Carroll’s 1865 novel ‘Alice in Wonderland’. A century later, Blackman reinvigorated this story, creating a series of images that now sit at the heart of Australian art.

Where Carroll’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ is frothy and light, Blackman’s is distantly melancholic. His Alice appears forlorn, surrounded by warped characters, her eyes ringed purple. She takes after Blackman’s then wife, Barbara Blackman, who was in the midst of going blind. Like Alice’s fall into the disorientating Wonderland, Barbara found herself navigating an increasingly unfamiliar world. At night, Charles and Barbara would take solace in an audiobook of ‘Alice in Wonderland’.

In the extremely rare Alice Jug from the Alice suite, Blackman presents a resolute jug. Despite its ridiculous edge, the work is moving. It recalls the still life genre, where objects like flowers take on metaphysical resonance. Beautiful as they may be, they carry the implicit truth that all forms of life must one day die. For now however, Blackman’s blooms feel eternal, personified miracles to puncture the minutiae.

For collectors of important Modern art and Blackman, Alice Jug is a treasure. It is hand-signed and framed. If this work catches your eye, act now.
 

Charles BLACKMAN (1928 - 2018)
'Alice Jug' ca. 1989
Silkscreen print on paper
Edition of 75
Image Size: 63 x 50 cm
Dimensions: 76 x 56 cm
Signed: Signed, titled, and editioned by the artist in pencil in margin below image.
Comes with Letter of Provenance
From ‘Alice’, a suite of six silkscreen prints, limited to an edition of 75; conceived and published by Nadine Amadio and Charles Blackman; printed by Michelle Perry at Marling Press (Sydney).Illustrated, another impression from the edition.

Condition: Excellent
© Charles Blackman / Copyright Agency 2023