Alice Neel, Collector of Souls

Jurriaan Benschop | The Brooklyn Rail | 1st February 2017

Despite being enmeshed in New York’s art world Neel’s style was immune to its famous art movements. Right from her earliest work she viewed herself as a realist painter, one without an agenda. Her emotionally insightful portraits, including those of pregnant women, now underpin a lofty reputation.  She observed “if I hadn’t been an artist, I could have been a psychiatrist.” A video (5 min) is here and images here