Charles Blackman was born in 1928, and is particularly noted for the Schoolgirl and Alice in Wonderland series of the 1950s. His work is associated with dreamlike images tinged with mystery and foreboding. He was a member of the Antipodeans, a group of Melbourne painters that also included Arthur Boyd, David Boyd, John Brack, Robert Dickerson, John Perceval and Clifton Pugh. born in Sydney was principally self-taught. He came to notice following his move to Melbourne in the mid-1940s, where he became friends with Joy Hester, John Perceval and Laurence Hope as well as gaining the support of critic and art patron John Reed. His work met critical acclaim through his early  Alice series, Blackman's conception of Lewis Carroll's most famous character. For some time while painting the Alice series, Blackman worked as a cook at a café run by art dealer, George Mora and his wife, fellow artist Mirka Mora. His strong friendships with fellow artists led to field trips, sessions with models, cultural interchanges with poets, writers, musicians and work with the ballet, doing set designs, In 1960  after winning the Helena Rubenstein Scholarship he lived in London,  In 1970 he moved to Paris, when awarded the atelier studio in the Cité des Artes - it was an eternal source of inspiration.