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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

The Gallery’s Acknowledgement of Country, and information on culturally sensitive and restricted content and the use of historic language in the collection can be found here.

Barbara Blackman

c. 1953
an unknown artist

gelatin silver photograph on paper (image: 28.8 cm x 24.1 cm)

Poet and writer Barbara Blackman AO (1928–2024) grew up in Brisbane and became a member of the city's literary community while still in her teens. Diagnosed with optic atrophy, she was declared blind by the age of 22, plunging her 'into a black hole of despair'. She met artist Charles Blackman after moving to Sydney, and by the early 1950s they'd relocated to Melbourne. There they became associated with the group centred around the Melbourne Contemporary Art Society, and Barbara modelled for artist friends to supplement her pension. She came to consider her blindness a gift for the richer access it provided to words, poetry, intuition and the imagination, and it had a profound influence on her husband's art throughout their almost 30-year marriage. She also worked as a magazine columnist and a radio-producer for Radio for the Print Handicapped, helped form the National Federation of Blind Citizens, and interviewed hundreds of people for the National Library of Australia's oral history program. Her many books included the memoir Glass after Glass (1997) and the retrospective collection of essays All My Januaries (2016). A documentary about her life, Seeing from Within, was released in 2017.

Gift of Barbara Blackman 2004

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. Works of art from the collection are reproduced as per the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). The use of images of works from the collection may be restricted under the Act. Requests for a reproduction of a work of art can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

Artist and subject

Barbara Blackman AO (age 25 in 1953)

Donated by

Barbara Blackman AO (3 portraits)

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Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia

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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

This website comprises and contains copyrighted materials and works. Copyright in all materials and/or works comprising or contained within this website remains with the National Portrait Gallery and other copyright owners as specified.

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. The use of images of works of art reproduced on this website and all other content may be restricted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Requests for a reproduction of a work of art or other content can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

The National Portrait Gallery is an Australian Government Agency