
For my expressive portrait artist I chose Alice Neel. Alice Neel was born in 1900 in Merion Square, Pennsylvania then moved to Colwyn, Pennsylvania. She attended the Philadelphia School of Design for Women. She married a Cuban painter named Carlos Enriquez in 1925 and moved to Havana where she bore her first daughter, Santillana (who died of diqhtheria) and when they moved to New York she bore her second daughter, Isabetta. She suffered a nervous breakdown when her husband left her taking their daughter with him, and was hospitalized for a year after attempted suicide. The loss of her first born and grief over losing her family reflects deeply in a lot of her artwork, which show the state of motherhood. In 1939 she gave birth to Richard and in 1941 had Hartley both of which were by two different fathers. I was captivated by Alice Neel’s story and found her to be a very interesting if not sad woman; however, I was even more captivated by her artwork. Her paintings are noted for their use of line and color and are filled with emotion. This particular painting is a portrait of her son,Hartley, in 1965 and caught my attention the most. Alice Neel died in 1984.
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