In the immersive ‘Moon Shadow’, alternatively titled ‘Moon Leaves’, Charles Blackman lures us to the garden at midnight. Two anonymous girls, perhaps sides of the same face, look out against a moody sky. A cat crouches nearby, tendrils of garden holding the scene close.

Auguste Blackman, Charles’s son, recalls helping to pull this lithograph. They were experimenting with the “tushe” technique using crayon and zinc plates. Each morning would start with Vivalidi, a roast beef sandwich at Florentino’s and then over to RMIT, where this work was printed. Auguste recalls the period as fertile and collaborative, experts in art and printmaking coming together to push the boundaries of their craft, all in search of beauty.

Charles Blackman spent much of his childhood in the garden and it has been said, spent his career painting back to it. ‘Moon Shadow’ is a site of wonder, forbidden yet intriguing. For collectors of Blackman, this early forest green etching is a collector’s jewel.

Charles BLACKMAN (1928 - 2018)
'Moon Shadows' c. 1977
lithograph on paper
Edition of 60
Image Size: 61 x 83 cm
Dimensions: 90 x 110 x 2 cm
Signed: Signed, titled, and numbered in margin
Comes with Letter of Provenance

RELATED IMPRESSIONS:
An impression of this edition, titled Moon Leaves, is represented in the permanent collection of the Maitland Regional Art Gallery, accession number: 2012.037

Condition: Very Good. Image is in good condition and has been conserved to restore the PH balance in the paper. There is some discolouration and damage created in the artists studio to paper margins which is concealed with the window mount. This work is framed - photograph to come.

(c) Charles Blackman / Copyright Agency 2024