Overview
The Subject and Me tells the story of the turbulent events that shaped Alice Neel’s life through a retrospective of drawings and selection of late paintings.
Emphasising the psychological perception that would allow Neel (1900—1984) to produce some of the most striking and resonant portraits of the twentieth century, the exhibition offers candid observations of sexuality, family, childhood, pain and poverty. It is also an important subjective document of life in post-war America.
The Subject and Me tells the story of the turbulent events that shaped Alice Neel’s life through a retrospective of drawings and selection of late paintings.Against a tendency in much of the celebrated art of that period, to remove the messiness of human existence, Neel’s work seems to strive for a more embracing world-view. To borrow from one of Neel’s close friends, poet Kenneth Fearing, the portraits seem to say: “I forgive you, to put it simply, for being alive, and pardon you, in short, for being you”.
There will be a guided tour of the exhibition on 25 August. Please reserve a place here.
When
Mon – Fri, 10am – 5pm
Sat & Sun, 12noon – 5pm
Step-free access from West College Street.
Where
Talbot Rice Gallery
The University of Edinburgh, Old College, South Bridge,
Edinburgh, EH8 9YL
