Watch American artist Alice Neel (1900–1984) speak about her painting and activism.

This podcast features the celebrated painter Alice Neel speaking about her life, inspiration, and “radical humanism.”

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

Filmmakers Margaret Murphy and Lucille Rhodes discuss their portrait of the celebrated artist—and what it was like to be painted by her.

"For me, people come first," Alice Neel (1900–1984) declared in 1950. "I have tried to assert the dignity and eternal importance of the human being." This ambitious publication surveys Neel's nearly 70-year career through the lens of her radical humanism. Remarkable portraits of victims of the Great Depression, fellow residents of Spanish Harlem, leaders of political organizations, queer artists, visibly pregnant women, and members of New York's global diaspora reveal that Neel viewed humanism as both a political and philosophical ideal. In addition to these paintings of famous and unknown sitters, the more than 100 works highlighted include Neel's emotionally charged cityscapes and still lifes as well as the artist’s erotic pastels and watercolors. Essays tackle Neel's portrayal of LGBTQ subjects; her unique aesthetic language, which merged abstraction and figuration; and her commitment to progressive politics, civil rights, feminism, and racial diversity. The authors also explore Neel's highly personal preoccupations with death, illness, and motherhood while reasserting her place in the broader cultural history of the 20th century.

Neel’s painting of an Indian mother clothed in a resplendent sari sparks memories of childhood and emigration.

A self-proclaimed “collector of souls,” the American painter Alice Neel is known today for her powerful, psychologically rich portraiture.

Morse enjoyed working in many styles, while constantly adapting her designs both to complement each book’s theme and appeal to the widest audience.

Join the exhibition’s co-curators on a tour of this landmark exhibition.