Eyes recur throughout Charles Blackmans work. They are objects of transfixion to us all – windows to the soul, betrayers of emotion and bearers of connection. In Blackman’s life however, they take on an autobiographical cadence; his wife, Barbara Blackman, went blind in the first rushes of Charles’s artistic fame. As his visual world opened, hers blurred.

‘Eye within a swirl’ evokes this complexity. From the artist’s archives, it pictures an eye squinting beneath a mass of obscuring clouds, black walls contracting either side. The work is graphic and emotive – layered with meaning.

For collectors of Blackman, this circa 1979 work is an arresting find.

Charles BLACKMAN (1928 - 2018)
'Eye within a swirl' circa. 1979
Charcoal on paper
Image Size: 12 x 9 cm
Dimensions: 12 x 26 cm
Signed: Signed lower right 'Blackman'
Comes with Letter of Provenance
 
Condition: Very Good: Describes a work of art's image as Excellent, but may show some small signs of surrounding wear to paper or frame. There are no tears to paper margin or disruption to the paint surface.
 
© Charles Blackman / Copyright Agency 2023