Alice Neel; The Works.

I have huge respect for Alice Neel, as a painter, she changed the way that portraits are painted for future generations. She changed the opinions of the Art World, who thought that portraits were an old and used up source, and created a new invigortating subject, one that can be explored through the use of colour and technique. Neel was not interested in creating something the subject would be proud of, something to show their beauty and honour. Instead she would capture a person's essence, something that maybe even the subject wasnt aware of. By using loose brushstrokes and not being afraid of the use of colour she would create a character that was both interesting and fascinating to the eye.

Take this piece, Robert Smithson 1962, oil on canvas, its one of my personal favourites with the lumpy texture of the paint and the grungy colours. Its a care free piece, she isnt worried about making him happy, its about atmosphere and mood. Her brushstrokes show freedom and confidence about herself and her ability. Its this that I, and every other painter, aspire to, to be confident in ourselves and not to worry about mistakes. I espcially like his cheek, that has abviously been scarred by acne, the colours Neel has chosen are perfect to describe this in an abstract way.

Nancy and Olivia, 1967, oli on canvas, is a beautiful portrait of a new Mother and her baby. They both look petrified as they stare out at the viewer, they have been thrown into this together and while the Mother is scared of her new found responsibilities, she guards her child from the World, and the placement of both of their heads together shows her love and devotion.

The paint appears to be much thinner on this portrait, but Neels attention to colour is still apparent, as well as her signiture of outlining in blue paint. I really like her ability to capture such a personal moment between a Mother and Child.

Self Portrait, 1980, oil on cavas, marks a huge turning point in Neel's work. Never believing herself worthy to be in her own work, Neel finally created her first Self Portrait at the age of 80. It's a beautifully painted piece, the disregard for true colours always being a part of Neels work has emerged again in this, the use of green for shading, the rosy flushed cheeks, the blue outlines, it all works so well. Showing herself, finally, but instead of something to please herself, and her vainity, she has shown us something personal, sneaking us a peak at the real Alice Neel.

Alice Neel: A brief history.

Born in 1900 on the 28th January in Merion Square, Pennsylvania, Alice Neel attended Darby High School until the age of 18, where she graduated after taking a business course, which taught her typing and stenography. In 1918 till 1921, she took a secretarial job with the Army Air Corps, and it was at this time when her first divulgences in Art took place, when she began evening art classes at the School of Industrial Art, Pennsylvania. On 1st November 1921, Neel enrolled into the Philadelphia School of Design for Women, and in 1923 she won the Francisca Naiade Balano Prize in her portrait class, two years running. During the summer of 1924, Neel attends the Chester Springs summer school of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. It is here that she meets Carlos Enriquez, a Cuban Artist.
She and Calos Enriquez continued to be wed and have their first child together, Santillana, who died of diptheria at the age of 1. Their second child, Isabella Lillian Enriquez, was born on November 24th 1928. However soon after, Carlos left Neel, taking their daughter with him, on May 1st 1930. In August of the same year, Neels suffers a nervous breakdown most probably due to the stress of being away from her daughter, and being left by her husband, she wrote "Carlos went away. The nights were horrible at first...I dreamt Isabetta died and we buried her right beside Santillana.". Due to the breakdown, Neel was hospitalized at Orthopedic Hospital, Philadelphia, where she remained until January 1931. Unfortuanately, things only got worse for Neel, as she attempted to take her own life two times, the first at her parents house by turning on the gas oven. She was taken to Wilmington Hospital, Delaware, before being returned to Orthopedic Hospital, where she smashed a glass with the intention of swallowing the shards. Luckily attendants prevent her, and she was sent to the suicidal ward at Philadelphia General Hospital.
In September of the same year, after being discharged from all precautions, she visited Nadya Olyanova and her husband, Egil Hoye in Stockton, New Jersey. It is here that she met Kenneth Doolittle, a sailor and close friend of the couple. Early 1932, the two move in together in Greenwich Village. However their relationship was a turbulent one, which resulted in Doolittle burning more than three hundred of Neel's drawings and watercolours, and slashes over fifty oil paintings in a rage in 1934. Neel moved to a close friends, John Rothschild, whom she had met in 1932 while participating in the First Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit.
In late 1935, Neel met the nightclub singer Jose Santiago, who soon moved into her apartment. Their first child was miscarried at 6 months into Neel's pregnancy in July, 1937. In 1938 the couple moved to the Spanish Harlem, East Halem, which is where Neel chose to paint many portraits of her Spanish neighbours. On 14th September Neel gave birth to their second child, Neel Santiago, which was later changed to Richard Neel,. Despite their new born son, in December of the same year, Jose Santiago left Neel.
Neel stayed on in the Spanish Harlem, and in 1940, she met Sam Brody, a photographer and film maker, who soon moved in, and gave Neel her second son on 3rd September 1941, called Hartley Stockton Neel.
In November 1942 the family moved to a third floor apartment at 21 East 108 Street in Spanishg Harlem, which is where Neel remained for twenty years, and is the recognisable background for a great many of her portraits.
On 3rd May 1946, Neel's father died, aged eighty two. In 1953 her Mother also fell ill due to cancer, and in March moved into the Spanish Halem with her daughter. She died on 1st March 1954 at the age of eighty six.
In 1958 Sam Brody moved out of Neel's apartment, but remained in her life on and off throughout the 60's. Soon after this, Neel began counseling sessions, with Dr. Anthony Sterrett.
In between her social life, Neel continued to exhibit her work, and recieve outstanding reviews from critics. It seems that the only thing she could trust was her painting, her painting would never leave her, and she would never leave her painting. Even when she was a single mother, she would catch time to paint, when the boys were asleep, at school; painting was her ecape route out of life and into an imaginary world where she could depend on something.
In 1980, the same year as her first and only self portrait, Neel had a pacemaker fitted, and on a routine check at Massachusetts General Hospital, Neel was diagnosed with colon cancer, which had spread to her liver. Although she proptly had surgery, it did not rid all the cancer. After months of chemotherapy Neel died on 13th October1984, aged eighty four.