Henry Geldzahler

Alice Neel

1967 · Oil on canvas · Modern and Contemporary Art

Working against the mainstream as a realist artist, Neel steadily developed her career with incisive, vivid portraits of those around her—neighbors in Spanish Harlem, art-world figures, and members of the women’s movement. Neel painted Henry Geldzahler, The Met’s newly appointed first curator of 20th-century art, possibly to ingratiate herself for inclusion in his upcoming exhibition. With her quick, active brush, she shows him with his legs crossed to hide his stomach and a slightly glum expression. Neel’s depictions of her sitters’ hands often revealed something of their character: Geldzahler’s rubbery left hand appears cartoonish and unsettled. He did not include her in his exhibition.

Artist

Alice Neel

Date

1967

Medium

Oil on canvas

Department

Modern and Contemporary Art

Credit line

Anonymous Gift, 1981