Hawthorn Schoolgirl 1953

Charles Blackman’s "Hawthorn Schoolgirl" is made with oil paint, applied in a deliberately artless way. Look at the flatness of the colour, the simple shapes, and the quick way in which the paint has been applied. It’s as though Blackman wanted to avoid any kind of virtuoso display. He clearly wasn’t interested in traditional painterly skills. Considered this way, the painting can be understood as a social gesture. Blackman turned away from an aesthetics of refinement. He did this to connect with the experience of ordinary people. The very sparseness of the painting – its seeming lack of finish – has the effect of dignifying the everyday, finding a kind of beauty in bare simplicity. In the end, it’s the combination of material, making, and social intention that gives the painting its power.