CHARLES BLACKMAN

Barry Stern Gallery, Sydney
Private collection, Europe; purchased from above in 1994

Overall good original condition. There is no evidence of fading. This work is framed under glass.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Charles Blackman's Alice in Wonderland paintings of 1957 are considered by many to be the pinnacle of his creative achievement; they are certainly one of the most celebrated series in twentieth-century Australian art. As with Sidney Nolan and his Kelly paintings, the Alice in Wonderland paintings was a series to Blackman returning regularly, revisiting the inspiration of Louis Carroll's stories and revising his own pictorial inventions throughout his career. 

Blackman recalled his elation on first reading Carroll: 'I was absolutely thrilled to bits with it... and it seemed to sum up for me at that particular moment my feelings toward surrealism, and that anything could happen...'¹  And the anythings continued to happen after 1957. In 1976, for example, Blackman created two new Alice images, Alice in Wonderland, in 1984 he was involved in creating the designs for the Alice in Wonderland ballet in Buderim, Queensland, and in 1986 he created the collages and illustrations for Nadine Amadio's fantasy The new adventures of Alice in rainforest land.

The present work is not from the original series, but a softer and less aggressive rendering. It does however combining many of the key elements of the Alice in Wonderland iconography such as Alice's left shoe, the cups, clocks, the Mad Hatter's top hat and the image of the eternal girl-child, Alice herself.  These symbols are arrayed busily, chaotically, surrealistically, across a ground which recalls both the chessboard in Alice Through the Looking Glass and the perspective-chequered table of the important Triptych (1965), in the present sale

1.  Charles Blackman, interview with Robert Peach, Sunday Night Radio Two, ABC Radio, 9 September 1973