“Painting was more than a profession, it was also an obsession. I had to paint.”
–Alice Neel
Alice Neel experienced some enormous tragedies in her life including the death of her first born daughter, abandonment by her husband and a nervous breakdown resulting in an attempted suicide. The film her grandson, Andrew Neel, directed discusses these tragedies and how her art thrived from them. Her two sons, both interviewed in the documentary, tell of her parenting skills, not in a demeaning manner, but rather as if, had she been a better mother, her art would have suffered. It is suggested that she was almost selfishly obsessed, making others sacrifice for the sake of her art. Most of her paintings were of nobodies, including pregnant women, the poor, people of color, children and elderly, meaning much of her audience couldn’t afford her portraits. In fact, at the time of her death much of her work remained in her home. The film portrays her distinct, shocking, evocative style, which remained unchanged throughout the many eras of popular art during her life.
Carr, Carolyn. Alice Neel: Women. New York, NY: Rizzoli International Publications, 2002.
This book speaks of Neel’s attraction to women in her paintings. Although she was also fond of male subjects, the focus is on the nude and Madonna paintings she has done. It is suggested that her experiences with motherhood as well as childbirth and children, is vividly displayed through the evolution of her paintings. She experienced multiple fazes of female portraiture ranging from motherhood and pregnancy, children and their mothers, children or infants and, finally, nude portraits. The portrait Jenny (in this book there are two portraits of Jenny which were interchangeably referred to as Peff Modelski as well) was painted shortly after the birth of her first grandchild in 1967 where her portraits of children became larger, more brightly colored and portrayed children who were eager, curious and self-obsessed. The bright colors and curious expression in the 1969 portrait of Jenny suggest that this painting followed suit with the rest of her work during this time.
Hills, Patricia. Alice Neel. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1983.
This book is based on a number of lengthy interviews with Alice Neel. Most of the biography is quoted directly from the conversations between Neel and the author with biographical inserts clarifying dates, places and events in Neel’s life. I enjoyed the information provided in this book because it was spoken directly from the artist herself and she speaks beautifully, telling intimate details of her life and painting vibrant descriptions with her words. It really gave me a feel for who she was through, simply, a few pages of her life’s stories. Although the chapter that I read did not provide any new details on her background or the portrait Jenny, it was a useful source of research and a genuinely enjoyable read.
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