Alice Neel papers
name: label: Creator
content: Neel, Alice, 1900-1984
topic: label: Topic
content: Portrait painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Portrait painting -- 20th century -- United States
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Women painters
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated from 1974 to 1983 by Alice Neel.
creator: label: Creator
content: Neel, Alice, 1900-1984
setName: label: See more items in
content: Alice Neel papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of New York painter Alice Neel measure 1.0 linear foot and date from 1933 to 1983. The bulk of the collection documents the last fifteen years of Neel's career as an artist. Found within the papers are letters from galleries, museums, and art organizations; writings and notes by Neel; exhibition catalogs, clippings, and other printed material; and photographs depicting Neel, exhibitions, and her artwork.
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: Alice Neel (1900-1984) was a painter in New York, NY. She was known for her portraits of New York artists and intellectuals. Neel studied painting at the Philadelphia School of Design for Women (now the Moore College of Art and Design) from 1921-1925. She married Cuban artist Carlos Enríquez, and they briefly lived in Havana, Cuba. After the break-up of their marriage, she settled in New York City. During the 1930s she worked for the Public Works of Art Project and the Works Progress Administration, painting scenes of urban poverty and developing her distinctive portrait style. She pursued a career as a figurative painter during a period when abstraction was favored, and she did not begin to gain critical praise for her work until the 1960s. Neel received an honorary doctorate from the Moore College of Art and Design in 1971 and a retrospective of her work was held at the Whitney Museum in 1974. During the last decade of her life she finally received extensive national recoginition for her paintings. Neel was also a notable public speaker and often spoke on the topic of women artists.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1933-1983
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.neelalic
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Notes
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as # series:

Series 1: Letters, circa 1968-1983 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 2: Writings and Notes, circa 1960-1979 (Box 1; 2 folders)

Series 3: Printed Material, 1933-1983 (Box 1; 0.6 linear feet)

Series 4: Photographs, 1940-1983 (Box 1; 6 folders)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed by Jean Fitzgerald in 1990. Funding for the processing, microfilming, and cataloging was provided by the Bay Foundation. A finding aid was written in 2011 by Erin Kinhart.
altformavail: label: Alternative Forms Available
content: The collection is available on 35 mm microfilm reel 4964 at Archives of American Art offices and  through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of the material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Notes
scopecontent: label: Scope and Content Note
content: The papers of New York painter Alice Neel measure 1.0 linear foot and date from 1933 to 1983. The bulk of the collection documents the last fifteen years of Neel's career as an artist. Found within the papers are letters from galleries, museums, and art organizations; writings and notes by Neel; exhibition catalogs, clippings, and other printed material; and photographs depicting Neel, exhibitions, and her artwork.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Material
content: Also found in the Archives of American Art are printed material on Romare Bearden, Alice Neel, and Howard Newman, 1975-1990, compiled by Dennis Florio, and a videorecording of "Art and Alice Neel," 1975, recorded as part of University of Georgia Television station WGTV's "Forum" program.