This is the first ever monograph on the work of the British artist John Blackburn (b.1932). Ian Massey traces the stylistic and technical development of the artist's work from the 'Encaustic' paintings of the early 1960s through to the present day. He considers Blackburn's wide-ranging output, of work produced both in England and in New Zealand. The author draws on new research, including conversations with the artist in his studio, and on previously unpublished archival material, including a large body of correspondence sent to Blackburn by his early champion and collector Jim Ede, the founder of Kettle's Yard.0Massey considers the artist's work within an international context; one that encompasses St Ives modernism, art informel, arte povera, the Gutai movement, and key influences such as Bacon, Fautrier and T©pies. He describes the artist's often intensely physical methods and incorporation of found materials, their usage informed by a humanist philosophy that stems from Blackburn's early experiences, and from what he describes as 'the brutality of being alive'. The publication establishes Blackburn's significance, and positions him within the history of post-war abstract painting. It includes additional texts by writer and critic Andrew Lambirth, art historian Christopher Johnstone, and long-time friend and collector Furse Swann.