From 1970 to 1971, Charles Blackman escaped Australia for Paris. He had won the prestigious Cite des Artes scholarship and upon setting down in France, fell in love with the culture, commencing what art historians refer to as his “Golden Era” for drawing. He set out to immerse himself in Parisian culture, to become a “serious” artist by mastering the nude.

‘Tracey (Nude)’ comes from this era. It recalls Kenneth Clark’s famous delineation between naked and nude — the former denoting the unclothed, the latter a loaded concept, aesthetic and convention. The nude, Clark argued, was not a subject in art “but a form” and any good artist must wrangle it to progress.

Sensual, minimal and elegant, ‘Tracey (Nude)’ sees Blackman dance with art history. It is a personal expression of creative sophistication, liberated from the shackles of Australia and social conservatism, while also recalling the complex position nudes hold — at once mythological and intimate, caught between strength and vulnerability. Who is Tracey?

Signed, superbly presented in a water gilded frame and provenanced from the Charles Blackman Foundation, this drawing is highly collectable.

Charles BLACKMAN (1928 - 2018)
'Tracey (Nude)' circa. 1971
Ink on paper
Image Size: 68 x 40 cm
Dimensions: 95 x 68 x 5 cm
Signed: Titled lower right 'Tracey'. Signed lower right and top left 'BLACKMAN'.
Comes with a Certificate of Authenticity from the Charles Blackman Foundation
Condition is very good
(c) Charles Blackman / Copyright Agency