Book Launch: Charles & Barbara Blackman: A decade of art and love
Tuesday 5 November, 6pm-7:30pm
National Library Australia, Theatre and online
Join Christabel Blackman in conversation with Jeremy Thomas as they discuss Christabel's book, Charles & Barbara Blackman: A Decade of Art and Love.
Entry is free to this event but bookings are essential.
The event will be available to view live online via the Library's Facebook and YouTube pages.
You do not need to book a ticket to watch the event online.
Following the discussion in the Theatre, Christabel Blackman will be available for book signings in the Foyer.
About Charles & Barbara Blackman: A Decade of Art and Love
When Christabel Blackman’s mother turned 90, they celebrated by sifting through Barbara’s old documents: diaries, photos, manuscripts – and a fragile old folder, tied with a ribbon. This held letters from a love long past between Christabel’s parents. It was a portal into a decade of art and love between Charles and Barbara Blackman.
Set against the burgeoning cultural art scene of 1950s Melbourne, among the soon-to-become legendary artists of the Heide group, Christabel weaves the story of Charles and Barbara and the influence they had on each other, and on the Australian art world. These handwritten letters vividly conjure the feeling of the time and breathe life into the names that are now found in galleries around the world. Charles writes descriptive sketches of his encounters and sentiments to his new love Barbara, who is in turn experiencing her own transformations: the loss of her eyesight, life with a matriarchal mother and her growing literary and intellectual ambitions.
In this intimate and immersive account, Christabel reveals her parents’ unswerving devotion and blazing creativity, and shares insights into the iconic people they were becoming. With over 160 artworks from Charles Blackman, as well as never-before-seen sketches, letters, documents and photos, it is a beautiful and revealing portrait of two people, their art and a world they changed forever.
About Christabel Blackman
Christabel Blackman was born in Melbourne in 1959, the daughter of iconic artist Charles Blackman and writer Barbara Blackman. She is a visual artist and a fine art conservator. At a young age she was studio assistant for her father, who taught her painting techniques, composition and the symbolic language of the emotions expressed in art.
In the 1970s and early 1980s she managed the family business of limited edition graphics in Sydney. Her formal trainings as artist and conservator were in Florence, Paris, Sydney and Valencia. She holds an Italian Diploma in Restoration of Easel paintings and a Spanish Masters Degree in Science for Art Conservation. She has lived half her life in Sydney and her other many lives in Europe and speaks five languages.
Christabel is represented by several major private galleries throughout Australia and has often exhibited in Europe. As an author, Christabel published her first article when she was 13 in the Terrace Times. She has published articles in The Australian, Conservation Magazine (where she was the science editor) and many museum and auction catalogues, monographic art restoration publications, international congress papers, and conferences in English, Spanish and Valencian. Christabel has worked as a teacher, photographer, illustrator and gallery consultant. She runs her own private art restoration studio and visual arts practice.
About Jeremy Thomas
Jeremy Thomas is a close friend of Barbara Blackman, with a strong interest in literature and the arts. With a degree in Sanskrit and Indian religion, Jeremy chose the public service over a life of paucity. He is a policy adviser who has worked in several portfolios and is currently developing environmental markets.