Priya Kapoor
Alice Neel (1900–1984) was an American visual artist known for her bold, honest, and candid portraits. She painted writers, poets, artists, activists, family, friends, and others around her with unfazed accuracy, honesty, and compassion. She is considered one of the greatest American portraitists of the 20th century. Her paintings have an expressionistic use of line and colour, psychological acumen, and emotional intensity. Neel's work contradicts traditional nude depictions of women by illustrating them through a female gaze, depicting women as being consciously aware of the objectification by men and the demoralizing effects of the male gaze. Neel's paintings are like story-filled windows to moments, emotions, and tales that will make you feel like you’re having a lively chat with art itself.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 28 January 1900 |
| Place of Birth | Merion Square, Delaware County, Pennsylvania |
| Education | Philadelphia School of Design for Women (now Moore College of Art & Design) |
| Style | Expressionist, Figurative, Realist |
| Subjects | Self, Family, Friends, Lovers, Poets, Artists, Strangers, Writers, Activists, Political Leaders, Street Scenes |
| Famous Works | Alice Neel and John Rothschild in the Bathroom, Hartley on a Rocking Horse, Loneliness, T.B. Harlem, Kate Millett's Time Magazine Cover |
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What You'll Learn
Alice Neel's portraits of her Spanish Harlem neighbours
Alice Neel is considered one of the greatest American portraitists of the 20th century. She pursued a career in figurative painting during a period when abstraction was favoured. Her work is known for its expressionistic use of line and colour, psychological acumen, and emotional intensity.
Neel moved from Greenwich Village to Spanish Harlem in 1938, where she lived until 1962. She was inspired by her neighbours, many of whom would sit for her. These sittings resulted in some of Neel's most direct and beautiful portraits. She painted what she saw around her: the faces, mostly Hispanic and Black, of the community in which she had made her home.
Neel's portraits of her Spanish Harlem neighbours include T.B. Harlem, which calls attention to poverty as a social issue without sacrificing the individuality of the subject, Carlos Negrón, the brother of her then-lover José Santiago. She also painted a boy named Georgie Arce, who used to run errands for her, in four drawings and a constricted painting, his ruffled black hair set off by a hot-pink background.
Neel also painted cultural heroes of the Harlem Renaissance, such as the playwright Alice Childress, who was a member of the American Negro Theatre, and Horace R. Cayton, who co-authored the influential "Black Metropolis: A Study of Negro Life in a Northern City". She also painted local characters, such as Joe Gould, whom she depicted in 1933 with multiple penises, representing his inflated ego and "self-deception".
Neel's portraits of her Spanish Harlem neighbours were exhibited in "Alice Neel, Uptown", curated by Hilton Als at David Zwirner in New York, and now at Victoria Miro in London.
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Her unique expressionist lens
Alice Neel (1900–1984) is considered one of the greatest American artists and portraitists of the 20th century. She pursued a career as a figurative painter during a period when abstraction was favoured. Her unique expressionist lens is evident in her bold, candid, and unflinchingly honest portraits, which often featured nudes.
Neel's early work received limited attention due to her figurative style during the height of Abstract Expressionism. However, she remained committed to her approach and did not conform to the art culture of the time. Her portraits, which included writers, poets, artists, activists, family, friends, and strangers, were known for their dynamic use of colour and line, adding depth and expression.
Neel's work challenged traditional and objectified nude depictions of women by her male predecessors. She depicted women through a female gaze, illustrating their awareness of the objectification by men and the demoralising effects of the male gaze. This is particularly evident in her self-portrait, painted in 1980, which showed her naked body at eighty.
Neel's portraits also reflected the social issues of her era. For example, her paintings of neighbours in Spanish Harlem, where she lived from 1938 to 1962, called attention to poverty. Her work also glorified subversion and sexuality, with whimsical scenes of lovers and nudes.
Neel's expressionist lens extended beyond the canvas. She experienced a turbulent personal life, including the loss of a child and tumultuous relationships. Despite this, she continued to paint and exhibit her portraits, reflecting her resilience and dedication to her art.
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Her work's unflinching honesty
Alice Neel (1900–1984) is considered one of the greatest American portraitists of the 20th century. She is known for her daringly honest, expressionistic use of line and colour, and her psychological and emotional intensity.
Neel's unflinching honesty is evident in her rejection of the traditional, objectified nude depictions of women by her male predecessors. Instead, she depicted women through a female gaze, illustrating them as being consciously aware of the objectification by men and the demoralising effects of the male gaze. This can be seen in her 1935 watercolour, "Alice Neel and John Rothschild in the Bathroom", which showed the naked pair urinating. Her female nudes have been described as truthful and honest portraits, as they free her female subjects from the prevailing idealistic ideology of how the female body should be portrayed in art, giving them an identity and power.
Neel's honesty is also evident in her choice of subjects, which included writers, poets, artists, activists, family, friends, and strangers. She painted Communist thinkers and leaders, such as Mother Bloor and the poet Kenneth Fearing, as well as local characters like Joe Gould, whom she depicted with multiple penises, representing his inflated ego and self-deception.
Neel's work also reflected the social and political context of 20th-century America. She became an icon for feminists, and in 1970, she was commissioned to paint the feminist activist Kate Millett for the cover of Time magazine. Her work glorified subversion and sexuality, and she often painted women in social interaction or in public spaces, challenging the traditional "Spheres of Femininity" that most 19th-century women artists worked within.
Neel's unflinching honesty and unique perspective have ensured the continuing relevance of her work today. Her paintings continue to be exhibited and celebrated worldwide, with recent shows in Paris, London, Oslo, and Hong Kong.
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Neel's paintings of writers, poets, artists, and activists
Alice Neel is widely regarded as one of the foremost American figurative artists of the 20th century. She is known for her bold, daringly honest, and unflinching portraits of writers, poets, artists, activists, family, friends, and strangers. Neel's dynamic use of colour and line, along with her expressionistic style, added depth and emotional intensity to her paintings.
Neel's career spanned from the 1920s to the 1980s, and during this time, she painted hundreds of people around her. She was a supporter of leftist causes and often depicted Communist thinkers and leaders, including poet Kenneth Fearing and activist Pat Whalen, whom she also had an affair with. During her residence in Spanish Harlem from 1938 to 1962, she found inspiration in her neighbours, painting their stories and calling attention to social issues like poverty.
Neel's portraits of writers include the poet Kenneth Fearing, mentioned earlier, and Joe Gould, whom she depicted in 1933 with multiple penises, symbolising his inflated ego and self-deception.
Among her paintings of artists is the iconic portrait of Andy Warhol, created three decades after he was shot by radical feminist Valerie Solanas. Neel's painting isolates Warhol, exposing a vulnerable side of the celebrity artist.
Neel also painted feminist activist Kate Millett, commissioned for the cover of Time magazine in 1970. Although Millett refused to sit for Neel, the painting was based on a photograph.
Neel's work often glorified subversion and sexuality, challenging traditional nude depictions of women by male artists. Her paintings reflected the era in which she lived and expressed the psychology of her subjects above their physical likeness.
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Her only self-portrait
Alice Neel, born in 1900, is considered one of the greatest American portraitists of the 20th century. She pursued a career as a figurative painter during a period when abstraction was favoured. She is known for her bold, candid portraits and her expressionistic use of line and colour, psychological acumen, and emotional intensity.
Neel's self-portrait, which she began in 1975, is one of only two she ever made. She took five years to complete the work, and later, recalling the process, said, "The reason my cheeks got so pink was that it was so hard for me to paint that I almost killed myself painting it." In the portrait, she presented herself fully nude, wearing her glasses and holding a paintbrush in her right hand and an old cloth in the other. The white colour of her hair and the several creases and folds of her bare skin indicated her old age. As she painted herself seated on the chair, her body faced away from the viewer while her head was turned towards them.
Neel's self-portrait was a striking challenge to the centuries-old convention of idealized femininity. Her unconventional self-portrait attracted considerable attention as it was a rare acceptance of her ageing body. She painted herself in a truthful manner as she exposed her saggy breasts and belly for everyone to see. In her last painting, she challenged the social norms of what was acceptable to be depicted in art.
Neel's work contradicts and challenges traditional and objectified nude depictions of women by her male predecessors. This is achieved by depicting women through a female gaze, illustrating them as being consciously aware of the objectification by men and the demoralizing effects of the male gaze.
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