Alice Neel, Uptown

Mercedes Arroyo, 1952
"Known for her portraits of family, friends, writers, poets, artists, students, singers, salesmen, activists, and more, Alice Neel created forthright, intimate, and, at times, humorous paintings that quietly engaged with political and social issues. In Alice Neel, Uptown, writer and curator Hilton Als brings together a body of paintings and works on paper of African-Americans, Latinos, Asians, and other people of color for the first time. Highlighting the innate diversity of Neel’s approach, the selection looks at those whose portraits are often left out of the art-historical canon and how this extraordinary painter captured them; 'what fascinated her was the breadth of humanity that she encountered,' Als writes. ..."
David Zwirner
The Atlantic: How Alice Neel’s Sharp, Compassionate Eye Painted Harlem
[PDF] David Zwirner
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2010 October: Alice Neel, 2012 September: Alice Neel: Late Portraits and Still Lifes