Created when Charles Blackman and his family had just returned from living in London, ‘The Race’ is the poetry of new beginnings. It is rare and original, picturing the silhouettes of children racing around an inlet populated by boats. Blackman’s motifs are in abundance: monochrome; rituals of childhood; the seaside; and stripes.

Like the best of Blackman’s work too, ‘The Race’ cuts whimsy with pathos. Captured from a distance, there is a sense that the viewer – or artist – is estranged from the children’s joy. Transcending the exactitudes of time and place, ‘The Race’ lives in the space between returning and leaving, the magic and disorientation of rediscovering a place almost forgotten.

Dated 1968, ‘The Race’ is represented in the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Victoria and The Arts Centre Melbourne. It is highly collectable and visually arresting, the poetry of reaching land after years at sea, unknowing where the race will end.

For collectors of prints, Modern art and Blackman, catch ‘The Race’ before it escapes.

Charles BLACKMAN (1928 - 2018)
'The Race' 1968
lithograph on paper
Image Size: 54 x 75 cm
Dimensions: 85 x 104 x 3 cm
Signed: Editioned, titled and signed in lower margin.
Comes with Letter of Provenance
Another impression from this edition is in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria Accession no 2003.186
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.
(c) Charles Blackman / Copyright Agency