Barbara Blackman, a leading patron of the arts and herself a cultural polymath, has died. She was 95. Subscribe now for unlimited access .
Login or signup to continue reading All articles from our website & app The digital version of Today's Paper Breaking news alerts direct to your inbox Interactive Crosswords, Sudoku and Trivia All articles from the other regional websites in your area Continue Blackman died in Canberra on Friday, surrounded by family. Barbara Blackman, who has died aged 95, pictured at home in Yarralumla in 2016. Picture by Rohan Thomson Over a long life, Blackman worked as a writer, poet, radio interviewer, artist, artists' model and served as one of the country's most significant arts patrons.
For nearly 30 years, she was married to Charles Blackman, the celebrated Australian painter. Blind since early adulthood, Blackman recalled in a documentary interview she had not lived a conventional life. "Blindness is not a negative," she said in 2017.
"It is a different way of seeing." Blackman was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2012 for "distinguished service to the arts and to the community, as a supporter of artistic performance, through philanthropic contributions, and as an advocate for people who are blind and partially sighted". A collection of 149 oral history recordings made by Blackman in the 1980s is held in the National Library, a significant record of 20 th century Australian art history.
Barbara Blackman was born Barbara Patterson in .
