Alice Neel

Neel with her painting,

Self-Portrait, 1980

"The place where I had freedom was when I painted.  When I painted I was completely and utterly myself.  For that reason it was extremely important to me."

Alice Neel

American Artist

1900 - 1984

Commentary

            Do you feel free when you are creating?  Is the act of creation a liberating experience for you?  If it is not a freeing experience, then maybe you are working on the wrong subject.  The act of creating should open you up and free your spirit.  Life may restrict and limit us with work, family, housing and food, but painting and writing should take us to worlds with no limits or restrictions.  We should be free to paint and write as we choose.  Don't let others impose their ideas on your art.  Be yourself when you create and let your spirit lead you and inspire you.



Creative Practice:

          Using this quote as a starting point, write for ten minutes every day this week about what freedom to create means to you.  Compare what you wrote on day one with what you wrote on day 7.  What changed and what stayed the same?  Then share your best writing here.

About the Artist

My Mother

1952

        Alice Neel was born in Merion Square, Pennsylvania on January 28, 1900.  She was the fourth child of Alice Hartley and George Neel.  After high school, Neel held a secretarial job with the Army Air Corps for 3 years and took art classes in the evening.  In 1925 she graduated from the Philadelphia School of Design for Women.

      On June 1, 1925, Neel married Cuban painter, Carlos Enriquez.  She gave birth to her first daughter in December of 1926.  Her daughter died just before her first birthday.  Her second daughter was born in 1928.

        In 1930 Enriquez traveled to Cuba with their second daughter and left her in the care of his sisters while he traveled to Spain. Later that year, Neel suffered a nervous breakdown and was hospitalized.  She attempted suicide several times.  Although they never divorced, Neel and Enriquez never saw each other after 1933.

        After Neel's separation from Enriquez, she had several lovers.  One of her lovers in a fit of rage burned over 300 of her drawings and watercolors.  He also slashed more than 50 oil paintings.  In 1939, Neel gave birth to her son, Richard.  Jose Santiago Negron, a nightclub singer, was the father.  A second son was born in 1941.  The father was Sam Brody, a photographer and filmmaker.  They had a relationship for two decades even though Brody was married.



Documentary Trailer

Solo Exhibitions:

1926, Havana, Cuba

1938, New York, Contemporary Arts

1944, New York, The Pinacotheca

1950, New York, A.C.A. Gallery

1951, New York, New Playwrights Theater

1960, Tinton Falls, New Jersey, Old Mill Gallery

1962, Portland, Oregon, Reed College

1963, New York, Graham Gallery

1965, New York, Graham Gallery

1965, Hanover, New Hampshire, Dartmouth College

1965, New York, Fordham University

1967, San Francisco, Maxwell Galleries

1968, New York, Graham Gallery

1970, New York, Graham Gallery

1971, Philadelphia, Moore College of Art and Design

1972, Bowling Green, Ohio, Bowling Green State University

1972, Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, Bloomsburg State College

1972, Nairobi, Kenya, Paa Ya Paa Art Gallery

1973, Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, Langman Gallery

1973, New York, Graham Gallery

1974, New York, Whitney Museum of American Art

1974, Tinton Falls, New Jersey, Old Mill Gallery

1974, Summit, New Jersey, Summit Art Center

1975, Portland, Oregon, Portland Center for the Visual Arts

1975, San Francisco, American Can Collective

1975, Geneva, New York, Hobart and William Smith College

1975, Northampton, Massachusetts, Smith College Museum of Art

1975, Stockon, California, University of the Pacific

1975, Athens, Georgia, University of Georgia

1976, New York, Graham Gallery

1976, Glenside, Pennsylvania, Beaver College Art Gallery

1976, Washington, D.C., Fendrick Gallery

1976, Wallingford, Connecticut, Paul Mellon Arts Center

1977, Hagerstown, Maryland, Washington County Museum of Fine Arts

1977, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin

1977, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Lehigh University

1977, Flushing, New York, Queens College

1977, New York, Graham Gallery

1978,  9 Solo Exhibitions

1979, 8 Solo Exhibitions

1980, 4 Solo Exhibitions

1981, 6 Solo Exhibitions

1982, 1 Solo Exhibition

1983, 4 Solo Exhibitions

1984, 3 Solo Exhibitions

1985 - 2011, 41 Solo Exhibitions (After her death)



Biography Sources:

http://www.aliceneel.com/home/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Neel



Quote Source:

Clint Brown, Artist to Artist, p. 163.

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Langston Hughes

"An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose."

— Langston Hughes

American Poet/Novelist

1902 - 1967

It takes courage to be an artist.  You must be able to do what others are not willing to do.  You must be able to create what you are afraid of creating.  If you let fear of rejection influence what you create, you will not be able to produce the art that you want and need to create.  

Artists need to be free from the criticism of society.  Critics often get it wrong.  Don't let the negativity of others hold you back.  Create what your heart tells you to create.  Believe in the choices you make.  If you listen to yourself, you will find your way through the maze of criticism and come out with your spirit whole and free.

Are you feeling courageous?  Are you creating the art that you want to create?  Are you ignoring the criticism of both your friends and your enemies?  Are you creating from the heart?  The choice is yours. 

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Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres

Self-Portrait

(1804)

"A painter can turn pennies into gold, for all subjects are capable of being transformed into poems."

— Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres

French Artist

1780 - 1867

The Valpincon Bather

(1806)

Some people believe that art is only about painting beauty.  Other people believe that writers should not write about certain subjects.   And still others seek to censor artists and writers.  Think about books that have been banned in school districts or art that is considered pornographic.  The American Library Association publishes online a list of 100 novels that have been banned from time to time.

What subjects do you avoid painting or writing about?  In what ways do you censor your own creative tendencies.  Do you paint to please others?  Do you avoid writing about certain events because it could hurt others?  How do you choose the subjects that you paint or write about?  Or does the subject choose you?  Do write about what interests you or do you write what you think the world wants to read?  Consider how many writers now write about vampires since the success of Ann Rice.  Or how many writers follow in the footsteps of the Harry Potter books.

Do you think Ingres is correct?  Can a painter can turn pennies into gold?  Can a writer make any subject poetic?  

Louise de Broglie

(1845)

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Franklin D. Roosevelt

"Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort."

— Franklin D. Roosevelt

32nd President of the United States

1882 - 1945

Creativity is not limited to writers, artists and musicians.  Anyone can be creative if they open themselves up and listen to the ideas inside.  Who has not had a better idea about something?  There are creative business people who have new ideas about how to do something better.  There are creative doctors who develop better ways to treat patients.  My dentist has developed 12 products that he has sold on the market. Unfortunately, some people bury their creativity deep inside.  They even announce loudly to those around them: "I don't have a creative bone in my body."  We all have the potential to be creative if we allow ourselves the opportunity.

Creativity is one of the most thrilling acts that we as humans can participate in.  If you have ever experienced the excitement of chasing a new idea or exploring a new way of seeing the world you will understand what Roosevelt is saying.  Some people might say that Roosevelt was not creative.  He did not produce any great works of art.  His creativity lay in his ability to change the way he and others saw the world.  The ideas that rose to the surface during his Presidency dramatically changed life in the United States and around the world.  People today are still trying to understand the impact of changes Roosevelt created in our society and our politics.  Roosevelt was a creative leader.

I have come to believe that one of the blessings in disguise in my life was the rejection of religion at young age.  It released a tidal wave of creativity within me.  It freed me to question any idea.  Otherwise, I think, today I would find myself in a straitjacket of rules and regulations.  As a child I was obsessed with the Bible.  I would have an anxiety attack if anything was placed on top of the Bible.  I had to remove it immediately.  If I had continued down that path, it would have led to some form of insanity.

What are you doing to cultivate creativity in your life?  Give yourself the freedom to look at the world in new ways.  See the world in ways that others don't.  Don't accept things as they are.  Question why?  Creativity is not about technique.  It is about seeing the world in new ways.  

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Hephzibah Menuhin

"Freedom means choosing your burden."

— Hephzibah Menuhin

1920 - 1981

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