Influential painter Alice Neel (18900-1984) was known for her portraits of famous people, as well as those on the fringes of mainstream society. A self proclaimed 'collector of souls' she painted friends, family and neighbours in Spanish Harlem, showing their personalities with uncompromising honesty.
Personal problems and a nervous breakdown didn't stop her working. Her constant struggle between her art and mother hood made her a shrewd commentator on life as a women, and her portraits of pregnant women are particularly well observed. She became a figure head for the feminist movement and is now widely admired by a younger generation of painters.
Alice Neel: Painted Truths (linked article)
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