Student Artwork Guide
Copyright This work is still under copyright. Alice Neel died in 1984; copyright lasts 70 years after the artist’s death, so it remains in force until 2054. The image is shown here for classroom reference; rights remain with the rights holder.
In context
Untitled (306) — Alice Neel
Row above: the years. Row below: how old the artist was at the start and at the end of each span — 0 at birth, 84 at death.
Shaded: the lifetime of Alice Neel (1900–1984) every dated painting, decade by decade
First works: up to 1949 Main working years: 1949–1972 Late works: from 1972
Those three bands split the works this catalogue has a date for into a first quarter, a middle half and a last quarter. They are not the artist’s complete output: a thin stretch may be a gap in the record rather than a quiet spell. The same years with the artist’s life laid along them
This record has no exact year on file — using the artist's lifetime and the work's style, what decade would you guess?
Pick one work above: name two things it shares with this one, and one thing that's different.
More works to set beside this one: topimpressionists.com/en/art/similar/alice-neel-untitled-306-A25DVR-en/
Measured from the image
Main colour
Espresso #514442
Catalogued palette
These colours inside the artist’s whole palette Find other paintings by colour
The ten leading countries
Find the three darkest countries on the map. Is the museum that keeps this painting in any of them? Write down one reason people far away might look at it.
Together these works take 99.2% of all the attention this artist's paintings received over the last twelve months. The catalogue holds 118 works by this artist, of which 20 were looked at at least once. This painting ranks 12 of them, with 4.3% of that attention. The same counts, month by month
Bars measure attention, not quality. Pick the work at the top and this one: name one thing that might make a painting famous beyond how well it is painted.
Artist and museum
Born in Merion Square, United States of America
Born: January 28, 1900, in Merion Square, Pennsylvania
Parents: George Washington Neel (accountant) and Alice Concross Hartley Neel
Family moved to Colwyn, Pennsylvania in early 1900s.
Fourth of five children; experienced the loss of her older brother, Hartley, at a young age.
Raised in a middle-class family with limited expectations for women.
Graduated high school and took a clerical position to support her family.
Studied art classes in Philadelphia by night.
Enrolled in the fine art program at the Philadelphia School of Design for Women (now Moore College of Art & Design) in 1921.
Rejected Impressionism, embracing the Ashcan School of realism, influenced by Robert Henri.
Won honorable mention twice for painting and received the Kern Dodge Prize in 1925.
Graduated from Philadelphia School of Design for Women in 1925.
Married Cuban painter Carlos Enríquez on June 1, 1925.
Moved to Havana, Cuba, where she was embraced by the Cuban avant-garde movement.
Developed her political consciousness and commitment to equality in Havana.
Exhibited with her husband in the XII Salon des Bellas Artes in 1927 alongside prominent Cuban artists like Eduardo Abela and Marcelo Pogolotti.
Had her first solo exhibition in Havana (date unconfirmed).
Daughter, Santillana, was born in 1926 but tragically died of diphtheria the following year.
Returned to the United States with her second daughter, Isabella Lillian (Isabetta), in 1927.
Carlos Enríquez left for Cuba, taking Isabetta with him.
Suffered a nervous breakdown and attempted suicide following these losses.
Hospitalized and placed in the suicide ward of Philadelphia General Hospital.
Returned to her parents' home after being deemed stable in 1931.
Later relationships were tumultuous, resulting in two more children.
Style: Expressionistic use of line and color; psychological acuity; emotional intensity.
Subject Matter: Primarily portraits of friends, family, lovers, poets, artists, and strangers.
Themes: Motherhood, loss, anxiety, the human condition, social commentary.
Notable works include "Well Baby Clinic," a bleak portrayal of mothers and babies in a maternity clinic.
Her portraits often challenged traditional depictions of women, employing a female gaze to illustrate their awareness of objectification.
Initially overlooked during the rise of Abstract Expressionism.
Gained significant critical recognition in the 1970s.
Received a National Women’s Caucus for Art award from President Jimmy Carter in 1979.
Called "one of the greatest portrait artists of the 20th century" by Barry Walker, curator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
A retrospective exhibition of her work was organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston in 2010.
Her work continues to be celebrated for its honesty, psychological depth, and powerful depictions of human experience.
Died: October 13, 1984.
topimpressionists.com/en/art/download/alice-neel-untitled-306-A25DVR-en/
Look closely
Untitled (306) — Alice Neel
Answer in your own words. There are no wrong answers here — only answers you can explain.
Write a short paragraph about this artwork. Use the facts from the earlier parts of this guide, and your answers above.
"Untitled (306)" by Alice Neel is still protected by copyright. Copyright terms are measured from the artist's death, and Alice Neel died in 1984.
The colors of "Untitled (306)" by Alice Neel show a discordant palette harmony. Harmony describes how the colors relate to each other.
The colors in "Untitled (306)" by Alice Neel have a monochromatic intensity.