Alice Neel - 1978 Magazine Review

Alice Neel : Recognition After Fifty Years
By Ann W. Heymann
Art Voices/South, May, 1978

It is generally agreed that Alice Neel's portraits are biting, soul-baring exposes. As Neel paints them, her subject's eyes are compelling focal points. In them she captures and records the fleeting emotion. Their emotional impact is emphasized by distorting body proportions. Diminutive full-length figures support over-sized heads through tension expressed primarily in the neck, shoulders and hand, and by the use of strong color masses—most often outlined in blue. Frequently, the rich or famous (Andy Warhol, Duane Hanson, the Soyer brothers) sit while Neel's brush records the fears and tensions people normally seek to hide.

But no one hides from Alice Neel.

Neel, herself, has been somewhat hidden from public view by lack of recognition for the quality of her work—until recent years when the art world did an about-face on her behalf. After fifty years of painting figures and "nudes, when no one else was doing that sort of thing," she says, Neel is at last being given deserved attention.

An Alice Neel portrait retrospective in February at the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art, and a concurrent showing of works on paper at Virginia Miller Galleries in Coconut Grove, were incentive for the 78-year-old artist to make an appearance in South Florida.

The Fort Lauderdale exhibit, as well hung as possible in the gallery's cramped quarters, provided viewers with a comprehensive overview of portraits executed during the 1960s and 70s. Augmenting the 33 painting exhibition, a 48 page catalogue prepared by Museum Director George S. Bolge contains a lengthy, lively introduction by Henry R. Hope. Hope and his wife, Sally, were shown in a joint portrait (1977), which is one of Neel's more kindly treatments.

Snow storms in New York prevented Neel from arriving for the opening of the Fort Lauderdale show. However, she did fly down in time to present a slide lecture at the University of Miami's Lowe Art Museum two days later.

Alice Neel greets guests from her wheelchair during a preview opening of her portrait retrospective at Virginia Miller Galleries in Coconut Grove, Florida. A portrait of Miller is visible in the background. Photos by Ann W. Heymann

Alice Neel departs from Lowe Art Museum on the University of Coral Gables campus, after an extensive slide presentation of the 78-year-old artist's work.

Alice Neel Invitation

Neel is a sweet grandmotherly-looking woman. But, as became evident during the slide presentation, her verbal expressions are akin to those of her brush. She punctuated an excellent retrospective-in-slides with remarks about the personalities and peculiarities of her sitters, one or two of whom were in the packed audience. Several times, following comments about her "decadent" models, she hesitated, looking at the slide, then said, "Isn't he (or she) beautiful?"

Viewers at the slide lecture were given a much broader view of the artist's ouvre than was available at either exhibit. Landscapes and interiors, though not a large part of her work, were included in that presentation. A sizable portion of her early work, she said, was destroyed by other hands.

Later that same afternoon, Neel attended a reception given in her honor by Virginia Miller. As her wheelchair was guided into the small gallery, Neel dug a compact from her purse and added a touch of powder to her nose.

A very large portrait in oils of Virginia Miller commanded most of the attention at the works on paper show. Miller, an attractive, tall and lean woman was easily identifiable in the same outfit she had worn when sitting for her portrait. According to Miller, her portrait is unusual in that it is one of the few to have an expressionistic background. The model, in the usual frontal pose, stares at the viewer, her copper hair and hat standing out against broad slashes of chartreuse.

Much of Neel's strength as an artist lies in her use of colors that increase the tension, the dynamic quality that prevails in the portrait canvases. This quality is missed when viewing the majority of her works on paper. One has a strong desire to get back to the "decadent" portraits.

As dusk descended on the patio outside the gallery and the guests mellowed with wine, a film about Neel's life and work (presented later in the month on public television) was shown to an appreciative audience, not the least of which was Neel. Toward the end of the showing, Ms. Neel was seen dabbing her nose with a handkerchief.

Ann W. Heymann is a free-lance arts writer based in Hollywood, Florida.

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