# Charles Raymond Blackman artist context and auction value notes Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/charles-raymond-blackman/ Profile generated: 2026-04-29T16:45:40.944Z Quality: high confidence, strong sources ## Artist identity - Birth date: 1928-08-12 - Death date: 2018-08-20 - Nationality: Australian - Movements: Antipodeans - Common media: oil painting, printmaking ## About Charles Raymond Blackman Charles Raymond Blackman (1928–2018) was a major Australian painter and printmaker whose imagery drew on dreamlike narrative, childhood, and literary themes. He rose to prominence in the 1950s with three linked bodies of work—the Schoolgirl series, the Avonsleigh series, and the Alice in Wonderland series—that established his reputation for poetic, psychologically charged figurative painting. Blackman was a founding member of the Antipodeans, a Melbourne-based group that championed figurative art during the rise of abstract expressionism, alongside Arthur Boyd, John Brack, Robert Dickerson, John Perceval, and Clifton Pugh. His work is held in Australian state and national galleries and appears regularly at auction in Australasia and beyond. Blackman lived and worked in Sydney for much of his later life and continued painting until shortly before his death in 2018. ## Common works and media Blackman's auction and appraisal profile includes oil on canvas or board paintings, watercolours, charcoal and pastel drawings, and a substantial body of screenprints, lithographs, and etchings. Common subjects include schoolgirl figures in urban settings, Alice in Wonderland-inspired compositions, cats, faces, and dreamlike domestic scenes. Editioned prints—particularly those related to the Alice in Wonderland and Schoolgirl themes—circulate frequently. Later works from his Sydney period often revisit these motifs in a looser, more expressive style. ## Market and appraisal context Charles Blackman's auction footprint in the Appraisily record index spans 56 lots from February 2020 through June 2025, with 21 carrying a realised price. The market is anchored by mid-tier Australian auction houses—Aalders Auctions, Raffan Kelaher & Thomas, Leski Auctions, Kerleys, Lawsons, and McKenzies—alongside Deutscher and Hackett, a nationally recognised fine-art saleroom. Prices cluster tightly in the AUD 120–360 band (P25 AUD 200, median AUD 300, P75 AUD 360), reflecting a high volume of editioned prints, screenprints, lithographs, and works on paper. The recorded maximum of AUD 5,600 indicates that unique or earlier-period works can command substantially more. Lot volume has tapered in the most recent twelve months (4 lots versus 17 in the prior period), which may reflect seasonal timing, a shift toward private sales, or data collection lag rather than a structural decline. The record set is heavily weighted toward prints and multiples; major oil paintings from the 1950s Schoolgirl and Alice in Wonderland series—which are the artist's most sought-after works—are underrepresented in this sample, and their market likely operates through the upper-tier Australian salerooms and dealer channels not fully captured here. ## Auction-house-backed market evidence Charles Blackman's auction footprint in the Appraisily record index spans 56 lots from February 2020 through June 2025, with 21 carrying a realised price. The market is anchored by mid-tier Australian auction houses—Aalders Auctions, Raffan Kelaher & Thomas, Leski Auctions, Kerleys, Lawsons, and McKenzies—alongside Deutscher and Hackett, a nationally recognised fine-art saleroom. Prices cluster tightly in the AUD 120–360 band (P25 AUD 200, median AUD 300, P75 AUD 360), reflecting a high volume of editioned prints, screenprints, lithographs, and works on paper. The recorded maximum of AUD 5,600 indicates that unique or earlier-period works can command substantially more. Lot volume has tapered in the most recent twelve months (4 lots versus 17 in the prior period), which may reflect seasonal timing, a shift toward private sales, or data collection lag rather than a structural decline. The record set is heavily weighted toward prints and multiples; major oil paintings from the 1950s Schoolgirl and Alice in Wonderland series—which are the artist's most sought-after works—are underrepresented in this sample, and their market likely operates through the upper-tier Australian salerooms and dealer channels not fully captured here. ### Appraisal notes Appraisily would use these indexed auction results as a starting comparable-data layer, then layer in the specific work's photographs, dimensions, medium, signature, condition report, provenance chain, and—for prints—edition number and trial-proof status. Because the recorded price band (AUD 120–5,600) reflects a mix of prints, works on paper, and occasional paintings, each appraisal must first classify the work by medium and period before selecting comparables. A signed limited-edition Alice in Wonderland screenprint should be compared against other editioned prints from that series; a 1950s Schoolgirl-period oil on canvas requires comparison against a different tier of results, likely from Deutscher and Hackett, Smith & Singer (formerly Sotheby's Australia), or Deutscher-Menzies records that fall outside this dataset. Edition details (number, trial proof, artist proof), condition (foxing, fading, frame condition), and exhibition or literature history can shift value meaningfully even within the same medium. ### Valuation factors - Medium: oil paintings from key 1950s series command a different price tier than editioned prints, which dominate the observed record set. - Series identification: Schoolgirl, Alice in Wonderland, and Avonsleigh series works are the most recognised and sought-after; later series (e.g. Orpheus, 2006) appear in the data at print-level prices. - Period: 1950s works are generally more significant than later-career revisitations of the same themes. - Edition details for prints: edition number, trial proof vs. numbered impression, and artist proof status affect comparability and value. - Provenance and exhibition history: gallery labels, literature references, and inclusion in major institutional exhibitions can materially increase value. - Condition: foxing on paper, fading of screenprint inks, and frame or mounting damage can reduce value, especially for works on paper. - Authenticity: signature verification and certificates of authenticity (noted in some lot descriptions) are important given the volume of editioned work in circulation. - Currency: all observed prices are in AUD; collectors outside Australia should account for exchange-rate context when comparing to international results. ### Collector notes - The observed auction record for Blackman is predominantly prints and works on paper, with realised prices mostly between AUD 120 and AUD 360. This makes signed prints an accessible entry point for collectors, but it also means that these results are not a reliable guide for valuing unique paintings, especially from the 1950s. If you own a Schoolgirl or Alice in Wonderland oil painting, the comparable data in this record set is too low-tier to be directly applicable; seek results from Deutscher and Hackett, Smith & Singer, or Menzies Art Brands. For prints, check edition number, signature position, and sheet condition before buying—these details explain much of the price variation within the AUD 120–360 band. The recent drop in observed lot volume (from 17 to 4 over twelve months) is worth monitoring; it may indicate tightening supply of desirable works or simply reflect data timing. Always verify print editions against catalogue raisonné records where available, as Blackman's output was substantial and not all unsigned or later-state impressions carry the same value. ### Market caveats - Only 21 of 56 indexed lots carry a realised price; unsold or price-not-recorded lots are excluded from price distribution statistics and may skew the picture upward. - The dataset is drawn from Appraisily's auction-record index and reflects the houses and sale events it captures; major Australian salerooms such as Smith & Singer, Menzies Art Brands, and Leonard Joel are not represented and may hold higher-value results. - No international auction-house results (Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams) appear in this source pack; overseas Blackman sales are not reflected. - The AUD 5,600 maximum likely represents a single work atypical of the broader print-heavy sample and should not be treated as representative. - All prices are in AUD and do not include buyer's premiums, which typically add 15–25% at most Australian auction houses. - Lot titles are often truncated in the record set; exact medium, dimensions, and edition details should be verified against the original auction catalogue before using any lot as a comparable. - The price data spans 2020–2025 and may not reflect pre-2020 market conditions or longer-term trends for this artist. ### Market evidence sources - undefined: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/charles-raymond-blackman/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0 - undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-charles-raymond-blackman-australia-1928-2018-harlequin-screenprint-trial-proof-42-x-32-cm-framed-54-x-41-cm-131-c-3714a3ba8a ## Appraisily data basis Appraisily artist pages combine independent artist-identity research from library authority files, museum records, and biographical sources with auction records, sale dates, realised prices, and comparable lot data when those records are available. The information on this page is drawn from the sources listed above and should be supplemented by a professional appraisal for specific valuation questions. ## Sources - Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3666345 - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Blackman - VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/10647723/ - Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82120079 - RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History): https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/8779 - Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500021290