Alice Neel

American, 1900 - 1984

Explore selected works

This painting shows a reddish-brown armchair in the lower left corner, situated in front of a window that frames part of a building outside. The floor of the room is light orange, and the walls are blueish-gray. The building beyond the window is a light peach color, and two windows are visible, with white trim above and below them. The chair is positioned at an angle, facing towards the center of the room. The shape of the painting is a thin, tall rectangle.
Alice Neel, Loneliness, 1970, oil on canvas, Gift of Arthur M. Bullowa, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art, 1991.143.1

Loneliness

Alice Neel · 1970 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1991.143.1

Shown from the knees up, a man with light skin shaded with sage green sits in a carrot-orange, high-backed chair, looking at us in this stylized, vertical portrait. Brown hair sweeps across his forehead and his interlaced fingers rest on his head so his elbows splay to the sides. The green shading is especially noticeable in the contours of his face and the underside of his thin arms. One black eyebrow is slightly arched over pale silver eyes. His pink lips are closed in a straight line and there is the suggestion of a cleft in his chin. He wears a white tee shirt and khaki pants, and his knees are relaxed open. His chest is slightly sunken in as he leans into the chair. The chair and his body and features are outlined in black. Brushstrokes are noticeable throughout, and the background is especially loosely painted. Areas of watery lavender purple, pale blue, and tan suggest the structure of a room. Light falls onto the man from our left.
Alice Neel, Hartley, 1966, oil on canvas, Gift of Arthur M. Bullowa, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art, 1991.143.2

Hartley

Alice Neel · 1966 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1991.143.2

The image shows a person sitting with their torso, arms, and head visible. They are positioned slightly turned to their left, with their left hand resting on a surface and their right hand near their lap. The person has sharp facial features with deep-set eyes and a pronounced brow, and slicked-back hair. They are wearing a long-sleeved top with a high collar that looks textured or ribbed. In front of them, on a surface, there is a crumpled piece of paper and an object resembling a rectangular box lying on its side. The background consists of abstract shapes and angular lines.
Alice Neel, Nancy, 1977, lithograph in black on Arches paper, Gift of the Collectors Committee, 1990.89.1

Nancy

Alice Neel · 1977 · lithograph in black on Arches paper ·  Accession ID  1990.89.1

Alice Neel, William Walton, 1967, oil on canvas, Gift of Hartley S. Neel and Richard Neel, 2005.124.1

William Walton

Alice Neel · 1967 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  2005.124.1

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