Alice Neel
Alice Neel
Alice Neel
Alice Neel
Alice Neel
Alice Neel
Alice Neel
Alice Neel
Alice Neel
Alice Neel
Alice Neel
Alice Neel
Alice Neel
Alice Neel
Intimate, casual, direct and personal, Alice Neel's paintings exist as an unparalleled chronicle of New York personalities – both famous and unknown. Born near Philadelphia in 1900, Alice Neel was one of the foremost American figurative painters and one of the most engaging painters of her times. A painter of people, cityscapes, landscapes and still lifes she was a woman with a strong social conscience and equally strong left-wing beliefs. These led her to move from the comfort of Greenwich Village to Spanish Harlem in 1938 in pursuit of 'the truth' and there she painted casual acquaintances and people she encountered on the street among the immigrant community. Her engagement with the art world came in the form of a series of dynamic paintings of artists and curators many of which are now in major museum collections throughout the world. In 1974 she presented a retrospective exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, an event that was repeated in 2000, marking the centenary of her birth.
Hers is an art characterised by honesty. Alternating between sombre and vibrant colours, Neel's application of paint could be hard-edged and broad as she addressed her subjects on canvas without preliminary sketches. The result of this direct approach is a body of work that preserves the spontaneity of initial ideas and the liveliness of the one-to-one encounter. Her paintings of mothers and babies reveal her deep understanding of their close bond while her depictions of the elderly reveal an empathy for the changes in body and mind that accompany old age. Few twentieth century artists have documented the life cycle with as penetrating a gaze as Alice Neel.
About the artist
Alice Neel was born near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1900 and died in 1984 in New York. Recent institutional exhibitions include Alice Neel: Feels Like Home, Orange County Museum of Art, California, USA (2023–2024); the major retrospective, Alice Neel: Un regard engagé, highlighting the political and social commitment of the painter, at the Centre Pompidou, Paris, (2022–2023), which travelled to the Barbican Centre in London, UK (Alice Neel: Hot Off The Griddle, 2023) and to MUNCH, Oslo, Norway (Alice Neel: Every Person is a New Universe, 2023); and the acclaimed 2021–2022 touring survey Alice Neel: People Come First, organised by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in association with the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
Previous solo institutional exhibitions include Alice Neel: Painter of Modern Life at Ateneum Art Museum, Helsinki (2016) travelling to Gemeentemuseum, The Hague (2016–2017), Fondation Vincent van Gogh, Arles, (2017), Deichtorhallen, Hamburg 13 October (2017–2018); Alice Neel: The Subject and Me, Talbot Rice Gallery, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, (2016); Alice Neel: Intimate Relations, Nordiska Akvarellmuseet, Skarhamn (2013); Alice Neel: Painted Truths, a retrospective that toured to the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (2010), the Whitechapel Art Gallery, London (2010) and the Moderna Museet, Malmö (2010–11); Collector of Souls at the Moderna Museet, Stockholm (2008) and Alice Neel, organised by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and travelling to the Whitney Museum of American Art (2000).
Neel’s work is in the collections of major museums including the Art Institute of Chicago; the Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York; the Denver Art Museum; the Milwaukee Art Museum; the Moderna Museet, Stockholm; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Philadelphia Museum of Art; Tate, London and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.
Related
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Gallery Exhibition
30 January - 8 March 2025
At Home: Alice Neel in the Queer World
The gallery’s ninth solo exhibition of works by the celebrated American painter focuses on her paintings of people from queer communities and those who were a part of their circle. Victoria Miro Gallery I -
News story
Posted
October 3 2024
Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Isaac Julien, Wangechi Mutu and more donate works to Artists for Kamala
Artists for Kamala is now live: donated works by Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Isaac Julien, Wangechi Mutu, Alice Neel, and Sarah Sze are now available as part of a fundraising sale that directly supports the Harris Victory Fund. -
News story
Posted
December 8 2023
Isaac Julien, Alice Neel and Chris Ofili feature in the Frieze top ten shows in the UK and Ireland in 2023
Sean Burns highlights exhibitions by Isaac Julien, Alice Neel and Chris Ofili from the past year. Sean Burns, Freize -
Review
Posted
October 9 2023
Chloë Ashby reviews Real Families: Stories of Change for The Guardian
‘Among the best is Chantal Joffe, who remembers realising while she was studying at the Royal College of Art in the early 1990s not only that she could paint her parents, but that it was a good way of contemplating her relationship with them. Ever since, she has committed herself and the rest of her family to canvas again and again.’ Chloë Ashby, The Guardian -
Exhibition
Posted
October 6 2023
Works by María Berrío, Doron Langberg and Alice Neel feature in Friends & Lovers at The FLAG Art Foundation
This expansive group exhibition (6 October 2023–20 January 2024) centers on relationships between artists and their subjects and explores the infinite ways, both past and present, we are influenced by our inner circles. The FLAG Art Foundation, New York -
Exhibition
Posted
October 5 2023
On view in Cambridge: Real Families: Stories of Change, featuring Chantal Joffe, Alice Neel, Celia Paul, Grayson Perry and Paula Rego
Bringing together more than 120 artworks spanning painting, photography, sculpture and film, the exhibition (6 October 2023–7 January 2024) asks us to consider what makes a family today, and the impact our families have on us, through the eyes of contemporary artists. The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge -
Exhibition
Posted
September 2 2023
On view in Oslo – Alice Neel: Every Person is a New Universe
Organised in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Barbican Centre in London, this exhibition (on view 2 September–26 November 2023) brings together over 60 powerful paintings and drawings, thus constituting the first comprehensive presentation of Alice Neel’s art in Norway. Munch Museum, Oslo, Norway -
Exhibition
Posted
June 22 2023
Alice Neel: Feels Like Home at Orange County Museum of Art
A curated selection of forty paintings, the exhibition (23 June 2023–7 January 2024) focuses on Neel’s honest, intimate paintings of her home, children, animals, and expanded family. Orange County Museum of Art, Costa Mesa, California -
Exhibition
Posted
June 13 2023
On view at Tate Modern – Capturing the Moment, featuring Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Alice Neel and Paula Rego
Subtitled A Journey Through Painting and Photography, the exhibition (13 June 2023–28 January 2024) explores the dynamic relationship between the two mediums through some of the most iconic artworks of recent times. Tate Modern, London -
Exhibition
Posted
February 16 2023
Alice Neel: Hot Off The Griddle at the Barbican
Organised in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou, Paris, this exhibition (16 February–21 May 2023) brings together more than 70 paintings shown alongside archival photography and film, bringing to life what Neel called ’the swirl of the era’. Barbican Art Gallery, London -
News story
Posted
February 15 2023
Acclaim for the Barbican’s major exhibition Alice Neel: Hot Off The Griddle
★★★★★ ‘This is a terrific selection, superbly curated by Eleanor Nairne and her team with utmost empathy.‘ – The Observer; ★★★★★ ‘What makes Neel great is her attention to detail.‘ – The Times; ★★★★★ ‘There’s nothing remote about these paintings, decades after they were made: her struggles and her subjects remain current.‘ – Evening Standard. Barbican, London -
Preview
Posted
February 11 2023
‘The economy of her painting is extraordinary’ – Chantal Joffe on Alice Neel
Chantal Joffe discusses paintings in the Barbican’s exhibition Alice Neel: Hot Off The Griddle (16 February–21 May 2023). The Financial Times -
Preview
Posted
February 6 2023
‘She created a space where people could reveal themselves’ – The Guardian previews Alice Neel: Hot Off The Griddle at the Barbican
‘With a chronological approach and fresh research… the show aims to underline who she painted, and why.’ Skye Sherwin, The Guardian -
Talk
Posted
January 26 2023
Talk – The Subject and Me: Katy Hessel, Chantal Joffe and Christina Kimeze on Alice Neel
This conversation (23 Feb 2023, 6.30pm; please note, this event is now sold out) held at the Barbican on the occasion of its major exhibition Alice Neel: Hot Off the Griddle, is chaired by art historian, broadcaster and the author of The Story of Art Without Men, Katy Hessel, and features the acclaimed painters Chantal Joffe and Christina Kimeze, who will consider Neel's distinctive style and enduring legacy. Barbican -
Preview
Posted
January 2 2023
Yayoi Kusama and Alice Neel feature in artnet’s top shows in Europe to see in 2023
Yayoi Kusama: You, Me and the Balloons at Factory International, Manchester, and Alice Neel: Hot Off The Griddle at Barbican Centre are featured in artnet’s 17 shows to see in Europe in 2023. artnet -
Review
Posted
December 31 2022
Alice Neel and Paula Rego are included in The FT’s visual arts roundup of 2022
Jackie Wullschläger highlights Alice Neel and Paula Rego in The FT’s visual arts round up of the past year. Jackie Wullschläger, The FT -
Preview
Posted
December 27 2022
Isaac Julien, Alice Neel and Paula Rego feature in The Guardian’s 2023 culture preview
Isaac Julien, Alice Neel and Paula Rego feature in The Guardian’s art-design to-do list for the year ahead. The Guardian -
Gallery Exhibition
11 October - 12 November 2022
Alice Neel: There’s Still Another I See
This exhibition, the first of its kind, focuses on pairings of paintings by Alice Neel of the same sitter, sometimes completed only a year or two apart, sometimes decades apart. Victoria Miro Gallery II -
Publications
October 10 2022
Alice Neel: There’s Still Another I See
Alice Neel: There’s Still Another I SeeNot currently available£ 65.000 in cart -
Feature
Posted
October 9 2022
‘The world finally caught up with Alice Neel’: the painter, remembered by her family, featured in The Telegraph
As new exhibitions open in London and Paris, Lucy Davies profiles the life and career of Alice Neel, featuring an interview with Hartley and Ginny Neel. Lucy Davies, The Telegraph -
Review
Posted
October 7 2022
Time Out reviews Alice Neel: There’s Still Another I See
★★★★ 'This gorgeous show upstairs at Victoria Miro is like a mini-museum exhibition' – Eddy Frankel. Eddy Frankel, Time Out -
Exhibition
Posted
October 5 2022
Alice Neel: Un regard engagé at the Centre Pompidou
The Centre Pompidou's major retrospective (5 October 2022–16 January 2023) highlights the political and social commitment of the painter. Centre Pompidou, Paris -
Exhibition
Posted
March 11 2022
Alice Neel: People Come First at the de Young Museum, San Francisco
This ambitious survey (which takes place in San Francisco 12 March–10 July 2022) was previously on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in 2021, and the Guggenheim Bilbao (17 September 2021–6 February 2022). de Young Museum, San Francisco, California -
Gallery Exhibition
12 February - 27 March 2022
Unmasked
An exhibition in Venice of works by Milton Avery, Jules de Balincourt, Hernan Bas, María Berrío, Chantal Joffe, Doron Langberg, Alice Neel and Celia Paul. Victoria Miro Venice -
News story
Posted
November 16 2021
Alice Neel: People Come First is named Apollo’s exhibition of the year
‘Encompassing seven decades of art-making, and giving space for lesser-known periodical work, ‘People Come First’ was capacious but never exhausting.Æ Apollo -
Exhibition
Posted
October 7 2021
Group exhibition MOTHER! now open at the Kunsthalle Mannheim, Germany
Travelling from the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark, this group exhibition includes work by Chantal Joffe and Alice Neel. On view until 6 February 2022. Kunsthalle Mannheim -
Exhibition
Posted
September 17 2021
Alice Neel: People Come First at Guggenheim Bilbao
This ambitious survey, which was on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in 2021, travels to the Guggenheim Bilbao (17 September 2021–6 February 2022). Guggenheim Bilbao -
Review
Posted
April 19 2021
Read Hilton Als – Alice Neel’s Portraits of Difference in The New Yorker
'A commonplace observation about great portraitists is that they are always, in some way, painting themselves. Neel’s genius was to make us understand not just her interest in her subjects but why we are interested in one another.' Hilton Als, The New Yorker -
Review
Posted
April 1 2021
‘It’s Time to Put Alice Neel in Her Rightful Place in the Pantheon’ – Roberta Smith reviews Alice Neel: People Come First
'Neel’s greatness lies in the different levels of realism she combines in her art. They include social and economic inequities; the body’s deterioration through time; and the complex interior lives of her subjects.' Roberta Smith, The New York Times -
Exhibition
Posted
March 22 2021
Alice Neel: People Come First
This ambitious survey (on view 22 March–1 August 2021) positions Neel as one of the century’s most radical painters, a champion of social justice whose longstanding commitment to humanist principles inspired her life as well as her art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York -
Profile
Posted
November 14 2019
Getty launches its Recording Artists: Radical Women podcast with an episode dedicated to Alice Neel
Artists Simone Leigh and Moyra Davey join host Helen Molesworth to discuss the life and work of Alice Neel in the first of a season of podcasts focusing on audio interviews with six women artists whose lives span the twentieth century. -
Exhibition
Posted
November 9 2019
Soul of a Nation, featuring Alice Neel and Howardena Pindell, travels to the de Young Museum, San Francisco
Originating at Tate Modern, the exhibition (9 November 2019–15 March 2020) offers a survey of diverse artistic responses to the most seismic years of Black social activism, 1963 to 1983. The de Young Museum, San Francisco -
Exhibition
Posted
August 16 2019
Now open at MFA Boston – Women Take the Floor, featuring Alice Neel
This reinstallation of the Level 3 galleries (on view 13 September 2019–3 May 2021) challenges the dominant history of American art by focusing on the overlooked and underrepresented work and stories of women artists. Museum of Fine Arts Boston -
Exhibition
Posted
May 25 2018
Alice Neel in Animals & Us at Turner Contemporary
The exhibition (25 May–30 September 2018) explores artists’ reflections on the relationship between humans and other animals. Turner Contemporary, Margate -
Exhibition
Posted
February 15 2018
The Ethics of Scrutiny, featuring Alice Neel, at the Irish Museum of Modern Art
Curated by artist Daphne Wright, this exhibition (15 February – 2 September 2018) examines the complex relationships between artist and sitter. IMMA, Dublin -
News story
Posted
December 12 2017
Zoe Whitley, Jack Bankowsky and Matthew Higgs select Alice Neel, Uptown in Artforum’s Best of 2017
Curated by Hilton Als, the exhibition was held at Victoria Miro in London and David Zwirner in New York in 2017. Image: Alice Neel, Benjamin, 1976, acrylic on board, 75.9 x 52.7cm , 29 7/8 x 20 3/4 inches. Artforum -
Exhibition
Posted
October 13 2017
Alice Neel: Painter of Modern Life at Deichtorhallen, Hamburg
Conceived by Jeremy Lewison, the exhibition (13 October 2017 – 14 January 2018) presents more than seventy paintings. Deichtorhallen, Hamburg -
Preview
Posted
August 15 2017
Artinfo previews Alice Neel: Painter of Modern Life, coming to Deichtorhallen, Hamburg
A slideshow of images from the forthcoming exhibition (13 October 2017 - 14 January 2018). Blouin Artinfo -
Exhibition
Posted
August 9 2017
Works by Alice Neel and Chantal Joffe feature in ISelf Collection: The End of Love, at the Whitechapel Gallery
Contemporary portraiture – both real and imagined – and the relationship between self and other, or between artist, sitter and viewer, is further explored by nearly 30 international artists (30 August - 26 November 2017). Whitechapel Gallery, London -
Review
Posted
August 9 2017
Alice Neel, Uptown reviewed in The White Review
"Neel was the Matisse of the brownstones: an exceptional colourist, immaculate stylist, and a collector of New York souls." Rosanna McLaughlin, The White Review -
Channel
July 21 2017
Hilton Als reads an undated poem by Alice Neel
“I love you Harlem…” Filmed on the occasion of the exhibition Alice Neel, Uptown curator Hilton Als reads an undated poem by the painter Alice Neel. The exhibition focuses on paintings made by the artist during the five decades in which she lived and worked in upper Manhattan, first in Spanish (East) Harlem, where she moved in 1938, and, later, the Upper West Side, where she lived from 1962 until her death in 1984. Alice Neel, Uptown continues at Victoria Miro, Wharf Road, London until 29 July 2017, and Victoria Miro Venice until 16 September 2017. -
Review
Posted
July 18 2017
Frieze reviews Alice Neel, Uptown
"…the exhibition underlines a part of Neel’s practice rarely explored and tells a story of how to be an artist in a big city…" Orit Gat, Frieze -
Gallery Exhibition
15 July - 16 September 2017
Alice Neel, Uptown
A new chapter of the acclaimed exhibition Alice Neel, Uptown, curated by the Pulitzer Prize winning critic and author Hilton Als, is on display at Victoria Miro Venice. Curated by... Victoria Miro Venice -
Exhibition
Posted
July 10 2017
Alice Neel’s portrait of artist Faith Ringgold is featured in Tate Modern’s exhibition Soul of a Nation
Completed in 1977, Neel's portrait of the artist Faith Ringgold is one of a number of portraits of prominent art world subjects painted while Neel lived on the Upper West Side. It features in Tate Modern's major exhibition Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power (12 July - 22 October 2017). Tate Modern, London -
Event
Posted
June 16 2017
FULLY BOOKED Gallery event: Hilton Als talk and book signing
Now fully booked. Wednesday 12 July, 6.30pm. In conversation with The Observer's Tim Adams, Pulitzer Prize-winning critic and author Hilton Als discusses the current exhibition Alice Neel, Uptown, with a reading from the accompanying book. Victoria Miro, Wharf Road -
Review
Posted
June 9 2017
Apollo reviews Alice Neel, Uptown
"What Neel does so well in these portraits is to hold a mirror up to uptown Manhattan of the 1940s and ‘50s…" Grace Banks, Apollo -
Feature
Posted
May 27 2017
Alice Neel, Uptown featured in i-D
"The exhibition covers so much, it's hard to find a place to start. Hilton or Alice? Race or gender? New York or America? Now or then?" i-D Felix Petty -
Review
Posted
May 19 2017
Rachel Campbell-Johnston reviews Alice Neel, Uptown in The Times
"Neel notices everything… Nonetheless, it remains saliently the inner person who speaks." Rachel Campbell-Johnston, The Times -
Picture story
Posted
May 19 2017
Alice Neel, Uptown featured in AnOther
"As a new exhibition opening at Victoria Miro gallery demonstrates, her portraits have never been more relevant." Alexandra Alexa, AnOther -
Gallery Exhibition
18 May - 29 July 2017
Alice Neel, Uptown
Curated by the celebrated US critic and author Hilton Als, Alice Neel, Uptown focuses on paintings made by the artist during the five decades in which she lived and worked... Victoria Miro Gallery I -
Preview
Posted
May 17 2017
Hettie Judah writes about Alice Neel, Uptown in inews
"As 'Uptown' shows… her true interest lay with those that touched on her day-to-day: earnest kids, mixed-race couples, sari-wearing Madonnas, Iranians fleeing the revolution, handsome young men in Jheri curls." Hettie Judah, inews -
Publications
May 16 2017
Alice Neel, Uptown
Alice Neel, UptownNot currently available£ 45.000 in cart -
News story
Posted
May 1 2017
The identity of Alice Neel’s 'Woman', 1966, is revealed in a feature in Scroll.in
Saudamini Jain tracks down Ujjaini Khanderia, the sitter for Alice Neel's 'Woman', 1966, which will be on display as part of Alice Neel, Uptown. Saudamini Jain, Scroll.in -
Interview
Posted
April 30 2017
The Observer interviews Hilton Als, curator of the forthcoming exhibition Alice Neel, Uptown
'I just felt the top of my head blowing off. These were people that I recognised…' In this interview with Tim Adams, Als discusses the importance of Neel's Harlem portraits. Tim Adams, The Observer -
Picture story
Posted
April 29 2017
The People of Harlem, as Painted by Alice Neel, in The Observer
See a gallery of images and read extracts from Hilton Als' texts on individual sitters. The Observer -
Exhibition
Posted
March 1 2017
Alice Neel: Painter of Modern Life at Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles
Conceived by Jeremy Lewison, the exhibition (4 March - 17 September 2017) presents more than seventy paintings. Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles, France -
Exhibition
Posted
February 25 2017
Alice Neel featured in the Royal Academy's America after the Fall: Painting in the 1930s
Neel's portrait of union organiser Pat Whalen is among iconic works in this once-in-a-generation show (25 February - 4 June 2017). Royal Academy of Arts, London -
Gallery Exhibition
25 January - 18 March 2017
House Work
Including Mamma Andersson, Jules de Balincourt, Hernan Bas, Marc Chagall, Peter Doig, Adrian Ghenie, David Harrison, Karen Kilimnik, John Kørner, LS Lowry, Alice Neel, Celia Paul, Grayson Perry, Tal R,... Victoria Miro Mayfair -
Exhibition
Posted
October 23 2016
Alice Neel: Collector of Souls at Gemeentemuseum Den Haag
This first ever Dutch exhibition (5 November 2016 - 12 February 2017) of Alice Neel’s impressively intimate works will include around seventy of her works. Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Netherlands -
Review
Posted
October 6 2016
Alice Neel: Painter of Modern Life publication reviewed in The New York Review of Books
This exhilarating compendium of Neel’s oeuvre is remarkably cohesive, in spite of the diversity of Neel’s images and subjects, and of the essays included. Claire Messud, The New York Review of Books
Previous exhibitions at Victoria Miro
Alice Neel: There’s Still Another I See
This exhibition, the first of its kind, focuses on pairings of paintings by Alice Neel of the same sitter, sometimes completed only a year or two apart, sometimes decades apart.
Unmasked
An exhibition in Venice of works by Milton Avery, Jules de Balincourt, Hernan Bas, María Berrío, Chantal Joffe, Doron Langberg, Alice Neel and Celia Paul.