Art Review: ‘Alice Neel: People Come First’ at Metropolitan Museum of Art

There are three problems with Alice Neel: People Come First, which opened last month at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and runs there until August 1. First, it’s a retrospective, and Alice Neel (1900–1984) doesn’t need another career-long survey show. This is the third one I’ve seen since 2000, and there were three I missed, one in Houston, one in Stockholm, and another in London, each within the last 15 years. All of these shows have catalogues with essays.

At least a dozen smaller exhibitions over the last 20 years have considered aspects of her career, among them Hilton Als’s show, Alice Neel Uptown, which ran in New York and covered a big chunk of the same territory, literally and figuratively, that the Met show covers. It has a 150-page catalogue. I saw a very good show, again, with a scholarly catalogue, on Neel’s late portraits at Zwirner about ten years ago. Zwirner represents Neel’s estate.

About the Author

Brian T. Allen

Brian T. Allen is National Review’s art critic.

There are three problems with Alice Neel: People Come First, which opened last month at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and runs there until August 1. First, it’s a retrospective, and Alice Neel (1900–1984) doesn’t need another career-long survey show. This is the third one I’ve seen since 2000, and there were three I missed, one in Houston, one in Stockholm, and another in London, each within the last 15 years. All of these shows have catalogues with essays.

At least a dozen smaller exhibitions over the last 20 years have considered aspects of her career, among them Hilton Als’s show, Alice Neel Uptown, which ran in New York and covered a big chunk of the same territory, literally and figuratively, that the Met show covers. It has a 150-page catalogue. I saw a very good show, again, with a scholarly catalogue, on Neel’s late portraits at Zwirner about ten years ago. Zwirner represents Neel’s estate.