Alice Neel : painted truths / Jeremy Lewison ... [and others]

Published to coincide with an exhibition held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Mar. 21-June 13, 2010, Whitechapel Gallery, London, July 8-September 17, and the Moderna Museet Malmö, Sweden, October 9, 2010-January 2, 2011.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 280-288) and index.

Lenders to the exhibition -- Foreword / Iwona Blazwick, Magnus Jensner, and Peter C. Marzio -- Preface / Peter C. Marzio -- Curators' statement and acknowledgments / Jeremy Lewiston and Barry Walker -- "The human race torn to pieces": the painted portraits of Alice Neel / Tamar Garb -- Showing the barbarity of life: Alice Neel's grotesque / Jeremy Lewison -- Crowding / Robert Storr -- Dividing up the canvas / Barry Walker -- Artists' appreciations / Frank Auerbach, Marlene Dumas, and Chris Ofili -- Plates, with thematic texts and entries / Jeremy Lewison and Barry Walker.

"Explores the themes and stylistic developments of the art of Alice Neel, one of the greatest American painters of the twentieth century, with works spanning nearly seven decades, four essays and additional texts addressing themes and specific works, three artists' appreciations, and a chronology and bibliography"--Provided by publisher.

This volume presents a survey of the works of American artist Alice Neel (1900-1984). Neel became known for her oil on canvas portraits of friends, family, lovers, poets, artists and strangers. Her paintings are notable for their expressionistic use of line and color, psychological acumen, and emotional intensity. She was unique for her time because she was a portrait painter at a time when this was traditionally the role of a male artist. Although the book focuses on her portraits, it also covers the artist's early social realist paintings and cityscapes, tracing the evolution of Neel's style and examining themes that she revisited throughout her career.