Find Lots

• Auction House:
  Bonhams Australia
• Sale Name:
  Tony White | The Jeweller's Eye
• Sale Date:
  11 Oct 2020 ~ 2pm (AEDT)
• Lot #:
  92
• Lot Description:
  Charles Blackman
  (1928-2018)
  The Dining Table, c.1970
  oil on canvas
  135.0 x 167.0cm (53 1/8 x 65 3/4in).
  signed lower right: 'BLACKMAN'
• Provenance:
  Gift of the artist; Collection of Late Tony White, Sydney
• Notes:
  For Charles Blackman the dining table was an engaging setting for the many lunches and dinner parties he either hosted or attended. Frequented by fellow artists, poets and academics, with spirited conversations and long evenings, the dining table was the site of much humour, adventure and a tipple or two. The setting first came to play in his Alice in Wonderland series from the mid 1950s. Blackman's own interpretation of the childhood story with its references to Barbara and his immediate surroundings, the dining table was frequently set like a stage upon which a painting's narrative might unfold. Whilst painting the Alice series 'Charles spent regular time at the Eastbourne Café in Wellington parade, Melbourne, where he was employed as a short-order cook for his friend Georges Mora and was actually involved with chairs, tables, dishes and people, the paraphernalia of the Alice paintings. The restaurant came into his paintings... It used to be referred to as the Kitchen ballet. I used to leap from fridge to plate... my record was serving a hundred and four meals, three courses, absolutely fully served, of – not haute cuisine, but not bad food.'1 Whilst the present work makes no reference to the Alice works, it is the setting that takes centre stage. In the years following his triumphant Alice series Charles was awarded the Helena Rubenstein travelling scholarship in 1960 and moved his young family to London. At the time, Australian contemporary art was on the rise on an international scale thanks to the likes of Sidney Nolan and Brett Whiteley. Blackman's overlapping social circles saw him mixing with the English aristocracy as well as modern British artists such as Keith Vaughan and Michael Ayrton, introducing him to the world stage of contemporary art. This fresh, heightened environment encouraged a more sophisticated approach to his work, allowing his art to take on a new direction. Elegant passages of abstraction crept into his oeuvre and a renewed ability to reduce compositions to flat planes of colour, a method he used in both his figurative and still life subjects throughout the 60s and 70s. Here, The Dining Table, c. 1970, is perhaps an ode to the memories of dinner parties past, with its quiet sense of anticipation. With its paired back use of colour, the dining table's simplified geometric pattern accentuates the table top. Its' plates, bottles and utensils easily defined, rather it's the playfully abstracted forms of food on offer catch the eye, with the door appearing to open one can only imagine the company invited to delight in the spoils. Having remained in his personal collection for many years, Blackman turned to his good friend and neighbour, jeweller Tony White when seeking a piece of jewellery for his wife's birthday. As with creative contemporaries, a sensible swap was made and this work has hung in Tony's 'viewing room' since. Alex Clark 1 Felicity St John Moore, 'Conception to Birth: The Alice in Wonderland Series' in Felicity St John Moore & Geoffrey Smith, Charles Blackman: Alice in Wonderland, (exhibition catalogue), National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2006, p. 10
• Estimate:
  A$70,000 - 100,000
• Realised Price:
  *****
  

  Can't see the realised price? Upgrade your subscription now!

• Category:
  Art

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.