Charles Blackman's paintings of 1956 -57 are considered some of the most important of his career. The golden haired girl in Sleeping closely parallels the iconic femal eimage in Blackman's famous Alice in Wonderland series. painted at the time his wife Barbara was expecting their first child, Auguste, this is an intimate moment in the artist's life. Blackman evokes an almost surreal dream world. In Sleeping the closed eyelid, a shutter into another realm, acts as a point of departure between day and night. It refers, as well, to Blackman's experience of his wife's blindness. (Sotheby's, Melbourne, 25 August 1997, lot 227)