Alice Neel and Gay Liberation

Explore Alice Neel’s relationship with queer culture and her vivid portraits of LGBTQIA+ subjects, including artist Jackie Curtis and poet Adrienne Rich.

Explore Alice Neel’s relationship with queer culture and the vivid portraits of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer subjects she painted in the 1970s, including artist Jackie Curtis and poet Adrienne Rich. Learn how Neel’s portraits coincided with the gay liberation movement, contributed to increasing queer visibility, and used visual puns as a means of encoding queer sexual identity and desire.


Contributors

Randall Griffey
Curator, Department of Modern and Contemporary Art

Female figure with long, dark hair and blue skin stands assertively, eyes wide and tongue out. Her multiple arms hold a sword and severed head, and she wears a necklace and belt of body parts.
Wrathful images of the divine in South Asia are meant to protect and nurture, not to be feared.
Vaishnavi Patil
March 9
Silver fish sculpture with emerald green eyes, lifelike scales, and visible details.
How do these exquisite examples of Judaica represent universal themes related to special days in the Jewish calendar?
Riva Arnold
February 20
Pop art portrait of a woman with bright orange hair, turquoise skin, pink lips, and lavender eyeshadow on a pink background.
How do works in The Met collection trace the shifting associations of blonde glamour in Western art?
Lynda Nead
February 2
More in:PridePortraitureSocial ChangeWomen's HistoryOn View

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Spanish Harlem, Alice Neel  American, Oil on canvas
Returned to lender
Alice Neel
1938
Geoffrey Hendricks and Brian, Alice Neel  American, Oil on canvas
Returned to lender
Alice Neel
1978
Andy Warhol, Alice Neel  American, Oil and acrylic on linen
Returned to lender
Alice Neel
1970
Jackie Curtis and Ritta Redd, Alice Neel  American, Oil on canvas
Returned to lender
Alice Neel
1970
Christopher Lazare, Alice Neel  American, Watercolor and cut and pasted paper
Returned to lender
Alice Neel
1932
David Bourdon and Gregory Battcock, Alice Neel  American, Oil on canvas
Returned to lender
Alice Neel
1970
Jackie Curtis as a Boy, Alice Neel  American, Oil on canvas
Returned to lender
Alice Neel
1972
Robbie Tillotson, Alice Neel  American, Oil on canvas
Returned to lender
Alice Neel
1973
Mary Garrard, Alice Neel  American, Graphite on paper
Returned to lender
Alice Neel
1977
Adrienne Rich, Alice Neel  American, Ink on paper
Returned to lender
Alice Neel
1973