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: 170/175, plus proofs Size: 31.25 x 27 inches Condition: Excellent Inscription:...
Lithograph
"Light" Alice Neel, Female, Bright, Colorful Still Life, Yellow, Red, Flowers
By Alice Neel
Located in New York, NY
Alice Neel Light, 1983 Signed and dated lower right Lithograph printed in colors on wove paper 38 x 27 inches Edition H. C. 15/30 One of the foremost American artists of the twenti...
Paper, Lithograph
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
$7,500
"Sam" Alice Neel, Female Artist, Modernist, Intimate, Seated Portrait, Interior
By Alice Neel
Located in New York, NY
Alice Neel Sam, 1979 Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil lower left Tusche and crayon lithograph on cream wove paper 34 1/8 x 24 inches Edition 3/10 Provenance BG Hacker, New York...
Paper, Lithograph
Man in a Harness, 1980 Limited Edition Print by Alice Neel signed and dated
By Alice Neel
Located in Hong Kong, HK
Alice Neel (1901-1984)
Man in a Harness, 1980
Lithograph in colors on Arches paper, signed in pencil, dated and numbered 54/100, with the blindstamp of the publisher, El...
Paper, Lithograph
Cypriano (A Basque Boy)
By Gerald Leslie Brockhurst
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on cream wove paper. 6 5/16 x 3 3/4 inches (159 x 94 mm), full margin. Signed in pencil lower center margin, from the edition of 111. A well inked impression with a minor cre...
Handmade Paper, Etching
$7,500
H 39 in W 31 in D 2 in
"Portrait de Balzac" 1952 by Pablo Picasso Large Signed Lithograph Edition of 25
By Pablo Picasso
Located in Yardley, PA
About this work: Executed in 1952, Portrait de Balzac is a wonderful example of Picasso's extraordinary ability to distill personality into the fewest possible lines. With a continuo...
Paper, Lithograph
$250
H 23.5 in W 11.25 in
Cubist Room Lithograph Print, Surrealist, Hand Signed AP Edition
By Ferjo, Fernando de Jesus Oliveira
Located in Aventura, FL
Lithograph in colors on paper. Hand signed and numbered by the artist. AP edition. Sheet size 23.5 x 11.25 inches. Image size approx 19.5 x 9.75 inches. Artwork is in excellen...
Paper, Lithograph
$3,750
H 38.5 in W 27.5 in
The Caduseus Of Mars Nourished By The Ball Of Fire Of Jupiter, Hand Signed, 1974
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Aventura, FL
Hand signed and numbered in pencil. From the series La Conquete du Cosmos (Conquest of Cosmos). Authenticated by Albert Field on verso. Sheet siz...
Engraving, Lithograph, Paper
$325
H 12.5 in W 14.5 in
A 1928 Modernist Woodcut, Self-Portrait of Notable Chicago Modernist Emil Armin
By Emil Armin
Located in Chicago, IL
A 1928 woodcut on paper of a self-portrait of notable Chicago Modernist artist, Emil Armin. Artwork size: 10 1/2" x 8". Archivally matted to: 12 1/2" x 14 1/2. Signed, titled and numbered in pencil. Edition 7/30. Emil Armin was born in Radautz, Austria in 1883. By the age of 10, Armin was orphaned and was raised by his older siblings. He supported himself by working in restaurants and drew in his spare time. In 1905, at the age of 21, Armin immigrated to Chicago. He began studying at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1907, but financial difficulties forced him to start and stop a number of times, finally graduating in 1920. He studied with George Bellows and Randall Davey. Armin was an integral part of Chicago’s 57th Street Art Colony and exhibited in both the more avant-garde Chicago No-Jury Society Shows, as well as the more formal and conventional Chicago Society of Artists Exhibitions, the Chicago Renaissance Society and Art Institute of Chicago (1922-1949) exhibitions. He taught at Hull House...
Paper, Woodcut
Inspiration, Modern Art Lithograph by Marc Chagall
By Marc Chagall
Located in Long Island City, NY
"Inspiration" is an original lithograph by Marc Chagall published in the "Lithographs of Marc Chagall vol. II". The book was published in a limited edition of 6000. Size: 12.5 x 9.5...
Lithograph
$422Sale Price|40% Off
H 26.38 in W 20.08 in
Ballerine au Chignon, 1986 Lithograph on Japanese Paper, Signed
By Jean Jansem
Located in Les Acacias GE, GE
Jean Jansem (1920-2013) – Ballerine au chignon, 1986 Lithographie sur papier Japon Signée en bas à droite Justifiée 67 x 51 cm / 76 x 53,5 cm Bibliographie: CR Jansem, 1993, n°56 ...
Lithograph
$475
H 7.125 in W 8.375 in
GREETINGS FROM THE HOUSE OF WEYHE. Many Known Artists Inside the Gallery
Located in Santa Monica, CA
MAYBEL DWIGHT (1875 - 1955) GREETINGS FROM THE HOUSE OF WEYHE, 1928 Lithograph, signed in the plate. Image 7 1/8 x 8 3/8” + printed title. Sheet 8 ¼ x 9” as issued. Xmas card iss...
Lithograph
$180
H 20.1 in W 23.7 in
Spanish signed limited edition original art print lithograph 20x23 in. n1
By Fernando Almela
Located in Miami, FL
Fernando Almela (Spain, 1943-2009) 'Jarra I (jarrones b/n)', ca.1990-1999 lithograph on paper 20.1 x 23.7 in. (51 x 60 cm.) Edition of 30 ID: ALM1442-001-030 Hand-signed by author Un...
Paper, Lithograph
Un Vase de Fleurs III (Flowers in a Vase)
By Frederic Menguy
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork "Un Vase de Fleurs III (Flowers in a Vase)" c.1980, is an original colors lithograph on watermarked Arches paper by noted French artist Frederic Menguy, 1927-2007. It is...
Lithograph
$759Sale Price|22% Off
H 40 in W 26.75 in D 0.05 in
Original Americans All! Honor Roll - Victory Libery Loan vintage poster
By Howard Chandler Christy
Located in Spokane, WA
Original 1919 Vintage "Americans All!" Victory Liberty Loan Poster by Howard Chandler Christy. Archival linen backed in A- condition, ready to frame. This iconic 1919 "American...
Lithograph
$598
H 19 in W 12.25 in D 0.05 in
Original Pin-Up - Telephone Call linen backed vintage pinup girl.
By George Petty
Located in Spokane, WA
Behold the original lithographic Petty Pin-up, a unique vertical-format piece. The see-through bathing suit she wears seems to make her glow, especially with her red hair peeking fro...
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: 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
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
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
The Youth (John Cheim)
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: 175, plus proofs Size: 38 x 24 inches Condition: Excellent Inscrip...
Lithograph
The Youth (John Cheim)
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: 175, plus proofs Size: 38 x 24 inches Condition: Excellent Inscrip...
Lithograph
Mother and Child
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
Man with Pipe (John Rothschild)
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: 150 Arabic Numerals, 50 Roman Numerals, plus proofs Size:...
Lithograph
Mother and Child
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
The Accountant (Marvin) by Alice Neel
By Alice Neel
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Alice Neel, American (1900 - 1984) Title: The Accountant (Marvin) Year: 1981 Medium: Lithograph on Arches, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: HC 13/16 Image: 22 x 25.5 in...
Lithograph