Neel, Alice, 1900-1984

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Alice Neel (1900-1984) was a painter in New York, NY. She was known for her portraits of New York artists and intellectuals. Neel studied painting at the Philadelphia School of Design for Women (now the Moore College of Art and Design) from 1921-1925. She married Cuban artist Carlos Enríquez, and they briefly lived in Havana, Cuba. After the break-up of their marriage, she settled in New York City. During the 1930s she worked for the Public Works of Art Project and the Works Progress Administration, painting scenes of urban poverty and developing her distinctive portrait style. She pursued a career as a figurative painter during a period when abstraction was favored, and she did not begin to gain critical praise for her work until the 1960s. Neel received an honorary doctorate from the Moore College of Art and Design in 1971 and a retrospective of her work was held at the Whitney Museum in 1974. During the last decade of her life she finally received extensive national recoginition for her paintings. Neel was also a notable public speaker and often spoke on the topic of women artists.

From the guide to the Alice Neel papers, 1933-1983, (Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution)

Artist; interviewee d.1984.

From the description of Reminiscences of Alice Hartley Neel : oral history, 1981. (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 309741433

Alice Neel (1900-1984) was a portrait painter from New York, N.Y.

Neel studied painting at the Philadelphia School of Design for Women (now the Moore College of Art) from 1921-1925. After living briefly in Havana, Cuba, she settled in New York City in 1927. She participated in various Federal Art Projects during the 1930s, painting scenes of urban poverty and developing her distinctive portrait style. Neel received an honorary doctorate from the Moore College of Art in 1971.

From the description of Alice Neel papers, 1933-1983. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122594217

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Werner and Yetta Groshans papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn Cohen, John. Pull my daisy [graphic] : promotional photographs and stills from the motion picture. UC Berkeley Libraries
referencedIn Clemens Kalischer papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Isabel Bishop papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn Neel, Alice, 1900-1984 : [miscellaneous ephemeral material]. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thomas J. Watson Library
referencedIn Printed material on Romare Bearden, Alice Neel, and Howard Newman Archives of American Art
referencedIn Smithsonian Institution. Libraries. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Library audio archive collection, 1969-2004. Smithsonian Institution. Libraries
creatorOf Slide talk. Harvard University Archives.
creatorOf Crosscurrents U.S.A. artists' statement : sound recording Archives of American Art
referencedIn Diamonstein-Spielvogel, Barbaralee. Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel collection, 1976-1999. Duke University Libraries, Duke University Library; Perkins Library
creatorOf Alice Neel papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn Lenore Seroka photographs Archives of American Art
creatorOf Neel, Alice, 1900-1984. Artist file. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
creatorOf Learning from performers : sound recordings Archives of American Art
referencedIn Guide to the Daily Worker and Daily World Photographs Collection, 1920-2001 Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
referencedIn Women's Project of New Jersey. Records, 1984-2004 Rutgers Special Collections and University Archives
creatorOf Neel, Alice, 1900-1984. [Alice Neel] : artist file John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art Library, Ringling Museum Library
creatorOf Neel, Alice, 1900-1984. Artist file : miscellaneous uncataloged material. Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)
referencedIn Hirshhorn, Joseph H. Joseph H. Hirshhorn archival audio collection, 1969-1984. Smithsonian Institution. Libraries
creatorOf Neel, Alice, 1900-1984. Reminiscences of Alice Hartley Neel : oral history, 1981. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
referencedIn Neel, Alice : Biographical file. Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
referencedIn Isabel Bishop papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn Papers, 1947-2004 (inclusive), 1957-2004 (bulk) Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Karl E. Fortess interviews with artists Archives of American Art
referencedIn Oral history interview with Judy Chicago Archives of American Art
Relation Name
associatedWith Bishop, Isabel person
associatedWith Bishop, Isabel, 1902-1988. person
associatedWith Chicago, Judy, 1939- person
associatedWith Cohen, John. person
associatedWith Communist Party of the United States of America. corporateBody
associatedWith Communist Party of the United States of America. corporateBody
associatedWith Detroit Institute of Arts. corporateBody
associatedWith Diamonstein-Spielvogel, Barbaralee. person
associatedWith Florio, Dennis. person
associatedWith Fortess, Karl E. (Karl Eugene), 1907- person
associatedWith Groshans, Werner, 1913 or 4-1986. person
associatedWith Harvard University. corporateBody
associatedWith Hirshhorn, Joseph H. person
associatedWith Judy Chicago, 1939- corporateBody
associatedWith Kalischer, Clemens, 1921- person
associatedWith Office for the Arts at Harvard & Radcliffe. corporateBody
associatedWith Polsky, Richard M., person
associatedWith Seroka, Lenore. person
associatedWith The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art Library. corporateBody
associatedWith Women's Project of New Jersey corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
United States 00 US
Subject
Painters
Painters
Painters
Portrait painters
Portrait painters
Painting
Portrait painting
Portrait painting
Women artists
Women artists
Women painters
Occupation
Painter
Portrait painters
Activity

Person

Birth 1900-01-28

Death 1984-10-13

Americans

Information

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