The stars only come out at night.

  • Charnley, Bryan, 1949-1991
Date:
1988
Reference:
3049666i
  • Pictures
  • Online

Available online

view The stars only come out at night.

Contains: 2 images

Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

You can use this work for any purpose, as long as it is not primarily intended for or directed to commercial advantage or monetary compensation. You should also provide attribution to the original work, source and licence. Read more about this licence.

Credit

The stars only come out at night. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). Source: Wellcome Collection.

Online resources

  • Related materials at Wellcome Library See the related archive PP/BCH: View resource

About this work

Description

Picture includes a laurel reath, blue face, stairs, stary night, cityscapes, and a suspended figure in a nightgown. Text in the top left of the picture reads 'Don't don't, don't you know the stars only come out at night'.

Publication/Creation

1988.

Physical description

1 painting : oil on canvas ; 91.3 x 60.9 cm

Biographical note

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.

Lettering

Don't don't, don't you know the stars only come out at night

Reference

Bryan Charnley. 1983. The stars only come out at night. [Oil on canvas]. Wellcome Collection 3049666i

Exhibitions note

Exhibited in the Reading Room, Wellcome Collection from January 2020 onwards.

Notes

Title provided by the Estate of Bryan Charnley.
Signed BJC 88 in the bottom right of the recto.

Ownership note

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

Type/Technique

Languages

Where to find it

  • Location Access
    On Exhibition
    Can't be requested

    Note

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