Pam & I.

Pam and I.

1982.

1 painting : oil on board ; 56.9 x 56.9 cm

Bryan Charnley (1949-1991) was a British artist whose work illustrates his experiences of schizophrenia. In 1969 he enrolled on a BA in sculpture at the Central School of Art and Design, but left due to a breakdown. He started painting in 1978, and from the late 1980s he began to get recognition for his work, with Bethlem Royal Hospital purchasing four of his paintings. From 1987 to his death he kept a dream diary as a way of understanding his own mind. In March 1991 he decided to experiment with his medication and embarked on a series of self-portraits, a series which exposed his mental illness. The series was exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery, London, in 1995. He took his own life in July 1991.

Bryan Charnley. 1982. Pam & I. [Oil on board]. Wellcome Collection 3049665i

Reproduced in Charnley, J. (2018). Bryan Charnley: art and adversity, pages 90-91.

Bethlem Museum of the Mind. (2015). Bryan Charnley: the art of schizophrenia, pages 12-13.

Title provided by the Estate of Bryan Charnley.

Signed BJC 82 in the bottom right corner. Writing in pencil on the verso states 'Gold R 83 Aug'.

Purchased by Wellcome Collection in 2018 from the Estate of Bryan Charnley.