Alice Neel : The Facts
Who is Alice Neel?
Alice Neel is considered one of the great American painters of the 20th century (she was also a pioneer among women artists)
What and how did she paint?
Neel painted people, landscapes and still lifes. She was never in step with avant-garde movements - painting in her own unique style (influenced by the spirit of northern European and Scandanavian expressionism and the darker arts of Spanish painting).
Early Life and Career:
The artist was born in Philadelphia in 1900 and trained at the Philadelphia School of Design for Women. In the 1930s she moved to NYC’s Greenwich Village and enrolled as a member of the Works Progress Administration (for which she painted urban scenes.) Her portraits of the 1930s embraced left wing writers, artists and trade unionists.
And Later:
Neel moved to Spanish Harlem in 1938, where she painted images of the Puerto Rican community, casual acquaintances, neighbors and people she encountered on the street.
In the 1960s, she moved to the Upper West Side and made a determined effort to reintegrate with the art world - which led to a series of dynamic portraits of artists, curators and gallery owners. She also continued to paint political personalities - like black activists and women’s movement supporters.
Info Via Neel’s Website
