Provenanced from the Charles Blackman foundation, this original drawing represents a glimpse into the artist’s first flush of fame. Dated 1961, it is a portrait of a schoolgirl, a recurring character in Blackman’s work. For Blackman, schoolgirls represented an interesting nexus — anxiety, innocence, threat and youth. He was also struck by their uniforms, troops of wide hats bobbing through Hawthorn.

In 1958 Blackman asserted his artistic position by signing the Antipodean Manifesto — a canonical text that decried the encroach of abstraction in modern art. In 1960, he was awarded the Helena Rubenstein Travelling Scholarship, which he used to relocate to London for six years. Here, he exhibited at the Tate and Whitechapel Gallery.

Bearing this in mind, ‘Young Girl’ can be read as a document of change. Blackman voraciously drew throughout the first few years in London, using art as a way to process his new surroundings. The subject of ‘Young Girl’ was likely drawn from life, a British iteration of the motif.

For collectors of Blackman and important works on paper, ‘Young Girl’ is a sterling find. It is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity from the Charles Blackman Foundation.

Charles BLACKMAN (1928 - 2018)
'Young Girl' circa 1961
Ink on paper
Image Size: 20 x 13 cm
Dimensions: 46 x 39 x 4 cm
Signed: lower right Blackman
Comes with Letter of Provenance

Condition: Excellent 

© Charles Blackman / Copyright Agency 2024