Charles Blackman is one of Australia's most beloved artists. His works are pensive meditations on human condition couched in the visually disarming vocabulary of a dream-like state. Many of his works, especially those from the ‘Schoolgirls’ and ‘Alice’ series, have entered the Australian vernacular and are considered to be among the most iconic images of Australian art.

Blackman's works have been a subject of curated survey exhibitions and scholarly monographs, while his importance to the Australian cultural landscape has been recognised by representative holding of his works in all national and state galleries, and significant regional and tertiary collections.

‘Boy, Bird and Bottlebrush’ depicts one of Blackman’s sons, Felicien, playing with childish abandon in the native scrub. The etching captures the artist’s joy of picnicking with his children around Sydney’s parklands. It also reflects Blackman’s memories of his studio in Buderim, on the Sunshine Coast, where the surrounding gardens teamed with native flora and fauna. The brevity of line and the delicacy of the sepia-toned tinting demonstrate the artist’s proficiency of the print medium.

This rare print, produced by the artist with Crown Street Press, is a valuable addition to budding collectors and connoisseurs of Charles Blackman s works alike.


Charles BLACKMAN (1928 - 2018)
'Boy, Bird and Bottlebrush' 1998
etching on paper
Edition of 50
Image Size: 30 x 45 cm
Paper Size: 56 x 76 cm 
Signed: signed CHARLES BLACKMAN in margin BIRD BOY AND BOTTLEBRUSH
Comes with Letter of Provenance
Hard ground, soft ground and aquatint etching printed on 100% cotton French paper 300 grams

Condition: As New: The work of art is in the same immaculate condition as when it was created. This could be the description for a work of art that may have been in storage for years, never sold on the market but may still be some years old.

(c) Charles Blackman / Copyright Agency