As one of the 20th century’s most influential American artists, Alice Neel was a champion of social justice, which served as a lifelong inspiration for her portraits and figurative paintings.
Born in 1900 in Merion Square, Pennsylvania, Neel grew up in a strict middle-class family that did not support her artistic ambitions. Undaunted, Neel enrolled in the fine arts program at the Philadelphia School of Design for Women — now the Moore College of Art and Design — where she trained with Ashcan School artist George Harding in 1921.
In 1924, Neel furthered her art studies for a period at the Chester Springs summer school of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. There, she met her husband, Cuban artist Carlos Enríquez. After they married, they moved to Cuba and had a daughter. When they returned to the United States to live in New York, in 1927, their infant daughter died from diphtheria. By 1930, the couple’s marriage had disintegrated and Neel suffered another blow when Enríquez took their second child to live with him in Cuba. She experienced a nervous breakdown, and her trauma led to an enduring theme of loss, motherhood and anxiety in her paintings.
Living in Greenwich Village and then uptown, Neel endured additional difficult relationships but immersed herself in her work. She secured a job with the Works Progress Administration, painting urban scenes and portraits of left-wing writers, artists and trade unionists. In 1938, she moved to Spanish Harlem, where she painted stark and honest still-lifes and portraits of friends, family and neighbors. Neel continued to make representational work even as the art world in New York City became enveloped in trendy Abstract Expressionism.
In 1951, Neel had her first solo exhibition showing 17 paintings at the A.C.A. Gallery. That same year, New York’s New Playwrights Theater exhibited 24 of her works, where she was hailed “a pioneer of socialist-realism in American painting.”
In 1960, Neel moved to the Upper West Side and made portraits of public figures such as poet Frank O’Hara, Andy Warhol and artist Robert Smithson.
Neel exhibited widely throughout the U.S. during the 1970s and was championed by art critics and feminist activists. She was honored with a retrospective exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in Manhattan. In 1980, her Self-Portrait was shown for the first time in the collection “Selected 20th Century American Self-Portraits” at the Harold Reed Gallery.
Neel’s legacy as a humanist lives on long after her death in 1984. In 2021, the Metropolitan Museum of Art hosted a retrospective exhibition of her work.
On 1stDibs, discover a range of original Alice Neel paintings and prints.
The Family, Alice Neel
By Alice Neel
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Alice Neel (1900-1984) Title: The Family Year: 1982 Medium: Lithograph on Arches paper Edition: 57/175, plus proofs Size: 31.25 x 27 inches Condition: Excellent Inscription: ...
Lithograph
$4,800Sale Price|20% Off
Man with Pipe (John Rothschild), Alice Neel
By Alice Neel
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Alice Neel (1900-1984) Title: Man with Pipe (John Rothschild) Year: 1979 Medium: Lithograph on Arches paper Edition: XXXVIII/L; 150 Arabic Numerals, 50 Roman Numerals, plus p...
Lithograph
$4,750
PORTRAIT OF JOHN ROTHSCHILD Signed Lithograph Seated Man with Pipe, Sailor Shirt
By Alice Neel
Located in Union City, NJ
PORTRAIT OF JOHN ROTHSCHILD is an original hand drawn, limited edition lithograph by the American woman painter Alice Neel printed on archival Arches paper, 100% acid free, using tra...
Lithograph
$11,600Sale Price|20% Off
Jar from Samarkland, Alice Neel
By Alice Neel
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Alice Neel (1900-1984) Title: Jar from Samarkland Year: 1982 Medium: Lithograph on Arches paper Edition: A.P. 24/25; 175, plus proofs Size: 38 x 28 inches Condition: Good Ins...
Lithograph
$800
H 25 in W 32 in
Goldfish, Cubist Still Life Signed Lithograph by Andre Minaux
By Andre Minaux
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Andre Minaux, French (1923 - 1986) Title: Goldfish Year: circa 1979 Medium: Lithograph on Arches Paper, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 120 Image Size: 21 x 26 inches ...
Lithograph
$453
H 12.6 in W 10.24 in
Ballerine sur fond vert, 1995, original lithograph by Jean Jansem, handsigned
By Jean Jansem
Located in Les Acacias GE, GE
Jean Jansem (1920-2013) Ballerine sur fond vert, 1995 Lithographie sur papier Arches, justifiée et numérotée 48/100 Signée en bas à droite 22 x 17 cm / 32 x 26 cm Bibliographie: ...
Lithograph
$763Sale Price|20% Off
H 22.05 in W 29.93 in
Joelle de dos au coussin vert 1995 original lithograph by Jean Jansem handsigned
By Jean Jansem
Located in Les Acacias GE, GE
Jean Jansem (1920-2013) Joelle de dos au coussin vert, 1995 Lithographie sur papier Arches Signée et justifiée 56 x 76 cm Album: La danse, 1999 Imprimeur: Arts-Litho, Paris Editeur ...
Lithograph
$762Sale Price|20% Off
H 29.93 in W 22.05 in
Joëlle aux jambières vertes, 1995, original lithograph by Jean Jansem, signed
By Jean Jansem
Located in Les Acacias GE, GE
Jean Jansem (1920-2013) Joëlle aux jambières vertes, 1995 Lithographie sur papier Arches Signée en bas à droite et justifiée en bas à gauche 65 x 50 cm / 76 x 56 cm D'une édition ...
Lithograph
$577Sale Price|40% Off
H 32.49 in W 23.43 in
French Vintage Exhibition Poster for Yves Brayer (1969) - Galerie de Paris
By Yves Brayer
Located in London, GB
French Vintage Exhibition Poster for Yves Brayer (1969). Newly framed, the poster announces an exhibition of the works of Yves Brayer at the Galerie de Paris which, at that time, was...
Lithograph
$1,252
H 29.93 in W 21.26 in
Petite danseuse aux cheveux défaits, 1991, original lithograph by Jean Jansem
By Jean Jansem
Located in Les Acacias GE, GE
Jean Jansem (1920-2013) Petite danseuse aux cheveux défaits, 1991 Lithographie sur papier Arches Signée en bas à droite et justifiée en bas à droite 66 x 47 cm / 76 x 54 cm Imprime...
Lithograph
$975
H 32.25 in W 23.5 in D 1 in
Chez Panisse Restaurant Birthday Celebration: Original Goines Graphic Art Poster
By David Lance Goines
Located in Alamo, CA
This original framed graphic art lithographic poster entitled "Chez Panisse Cafe & Restaurant Sixteenth Birthday" was created by David Lance Goines in 198...
Lithograph
Banksy "Cut and Run" Rat Poster Street Urban Art
By Banksy
Located in Draper, UT
Banksy "CUT AND RUN" Technique: Offset Lithograph Paper: Thick Stock Glossy Size: 16.5 X 23.4 Materials Thick glossy paper Size 23 2/5 × 16 1/2 in 59.4 × 41.9 cm Rarity Open editi...
Lithograph
$1,200
H 34 in W 27 in
Still Life with Flowers, Framed Cubist Lithograph by Andre Minaux
By Andre Minaux
Located in Long Island City, NY
Andre Minaux, French (1923–1986) Date: circa 1975 Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil Edition of EA Image Size: 22.5 x 16.5 inches Frame Size: 34 x 27 in...
Lithograph
$1,131
H 22.05 in W 29.93 in
Lydia au coussin indien, 1995, original lithograph by Jean Jansem handsigned
By Jean Jansem
Located in Les Acacias GE, GE
Jean Jansem (1920-2013) Lydia au coussin indien, 1993 Lithographie sur papier Arches Signée et justifiée 49 x 64,5 cm / 56 x 76 cm Imprimeur: Arts-Litho, Paris Editeur: Jansem, Pari...
Lithograph
$679Sale Price|40% Off
H 29.93 in W 21.66 in
Jean Jansem (1920-2013), Les trois masques, 1980, Lithograph on paper
By Jean Jansem
Located in Les Acacias GE, GE
Jean Jansem (1920-2013), Les trois masques, 1980, Lithographie sur papier Arches justifiée Signée en bas à droite 76 x 55 cm CR Jansem, 1984, n°451 "Dans mes dernières lithograp...
Paper, Lithograph
$5,075
H 40.5 in W 26 in
"Orient-Express, " Colored Lithograph Poster signed by Pierre Fix-Masseau
By Pierre Fix-Masseau
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Orient-Express" is a lithograph poster by Pierre Fix-Masseau. It depicts two people dining and being served drinks on a luxury train. The artist signed the artwork in the image lower right. There was a small tear on the margin that has been repaired. 38 5/8" x 24 1/4" art 40 1/2" x 26" frame French Poster...
Lithograph
Sold
H 16 in W 13 in
"Alice by Alice" Alice Neel, Introspective Self-Portrait, Female Artist
By Alice Neel
Located in New York, NY
Alice Neel Alice by Alice (Self-portrait), circa 1932 Signed, dated and titled lower left Graphite on paper 11 7/8 x 7 7/8 inches Provenance The artist Estate of the artist Robert Miller Gallery, New York Private Collection, New York, late 1980s Private Collection, by descent Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York Exhibited New York, Robert Miller Gallery, Alice Neel, March 16 - May 18, 1986, n.p., illustrated. Roslyn Harbor, New York, Nassau County Museum of Art, Alice Neel: Paintings and Drawings, March 16 - May 18, 1986. Washington, D.C., National Museum of Women in the Arts, Alice Neel’s Women, October 28, 2005 - January 15, 2006. Literature Robert Miller Gallery, "Alice Neel Drawings and Watercolors," 1985, p. 15, illustrated. Roberta Smith, "Alice Neel Show," The New York Times, December 19, 1986, Section C, p. 22. Carolyn Kinder...
Paper, Graphite
The Youth (John Cheim), Alice Neel
By Alice Neel
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Alice Neel (1900-1984) Title: The Youth (John Cheim) Year: 1982 Medium: Lithograph on Arches paper Edition: 20/25 A.P. Size: 38 x 24 inches Condition: Good Inscription: Signe...
Lithograph
Sold
H 27.56 in W 21.26 in
Portrait of John Rothschild (Man with pipe), Limited Edition by Alice Neel
By Alice Neel
Located in Hong Kong, HK
Portrait of John Rothschild (Man with pipe) from the American Portfolio. Lithograph on paper. Signed in pencil lower right and numbered 61/150, Printed by Joseph Kleinman Fine A...
Lithograph
The Youth (John Cheim), Alice Neel
By Alice Neel
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Alice Neel (1900-1984) Title: The Youth (John Cheim) Year: 1982 Medium: Lithograph on Arches paper Edition: 20/25 A.P. Size: 38 x 24 inches Condition: Good Inscription: Signe...
Lithograph
The Youth (John Cheim), Alice Neel
By Alice Neel
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Alice Neel (1900-1984) Title: The Youth (John Cheim) Year: 1982 Medium: Lithograph on Arches paper Edition: 20/25 A.P. Size: 38 x 24 inches Condition: Excellent Inscription: ...
Lithograph
The Family, Alice Neel
By Alice Neel
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Alice Neel (1900-1984) Title: The Family Year: 1982 Medium: Lithograph on Arches paper Edition: 57/175, plus proofs Size: 31.25 x 27 inches Condition: Excellent Inscription: ...
Lithograph
Still Life
By Alice Neel
Located in Milford, NH
A fine colorful limited edition printer’s proof lithograph by well known American artist Alice Neel (1900-1984). Neel was born in Marion Square, Pennsylvania, studied at the Philadel...
Paper, Lithograph
Sold
H 28.5 in W 21.5 in
PORTRAIT OF JOHN ROTHSCHILD Signed Lithograph, Expressionist Portrait Man w Pipe
By Alice Neel
Located in Union City, NJ
PORTRAIT OF JOHN ROTHSCHILD is an original hand drawn, limited edition lithograph by the American woman painter Alice Neel printed on archival Arches paper, 100% acid free, using tra...
Lithograph
Man in a Harness
By Alice Neel
Located in New York, NY
A very good impression of this color lithograph on Arches. Signed, dated and numbered 88/100 in pencil by Neel. Published by Eleanor Ettinger, Inc., New York, with the blind stamp lo...
Color, Lithograph
Light, Limited Edition Lithograph, Alice Neel - LARGE
By Alice Neel
Located in Southampton, NY
ALICE NEEL (1900-1984) An unshakable original, witnessed a parade of avant-garde movements from Abstract Expressionism to Conceptual Art, and refused to follow any of them. Instead, ...
Lithograph
Mother and Child, Alice Neel
By Alice Neel
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Alice Neel (1900-1984) Title: Mother and Child Year: 1982 Medium: Lithograph on Arches paper Edition: 175, plus proofs Size: 31.25 x 27 inches Condition: Excellent Inscriptio...
Lithograph
Light, Limited Edition Lithograph, Alice Neel - LARGE
By Alice Neel
Located in Southampton, NY
ALICE NEEL (1900-1984) An unshakable original, witnessed a parade of avant-garde movements from Abstract Expressionism to Conceptual Art, and refused to follow any of them. Instead, ...
Lithograph