I was really excited to see this exhibition, so I rushed 🏃🏾‍♀️off down to the Barbican to see it before it finished the next day! I inexplicably didn’t know very much about Alice Neel beforehand but her intriguing and emotive portraits drew me in as soon as I read about the exhibition.

 

She was a bit ahead of her time in terms of subjects and style, tackling some important questions visually, which were thought taboo at the time. Born in 1900 and really got going as an artist in the late 20s. She had her first major solo exhibition in her 70s and worked prolifically until her death in 1984.

 

Her work was deemed “un feminine” by some at the time, but she continued to paint who and how she wanted. My kind of contemporary expressionism! 

 

My photos of the exhibition sadly don’t do her work justice, so definitely check her out online or in print.