Alice Neel

Acquired by the present owner directly from the artist

Philadelphia, Moore College of Art & Design, Alice Neel, January - February 1971
New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, Alice Neel, February - March 1974, cat. no. 46
Saratoga Springs, Art Gallery New Art Center Skidmore College, Alice Neel Paintings, November - December 1978, cat. no. 8 (exhibition checklist)
Akron Art Institute, Alice Neel, December 1978 - January 1979
New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, Focus on the Figure: Twenty Years, April  - June 1982
Akron, Akron Art Museum, The Human Presence, November 1986 - March 1987
Washington, D.C., National Museum of Women in the Arts, Alice Neel's Women, October 2005  - January 2006
Cleveland, The Cleveland Museum of Art, June - September 2009 (extended loan)

"Alice Neel - Review", Akron Beacon Journal, December 14, 1978, illustrated (photograph with the artist)
Exh. Cat., Philadelphia, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Alice Neel, 2000, p. 172, illustrated (photograph of installation at 1971 Moore College of Art & Design show)

This painting is in very good condition. The paint surface is sound and stable overall. Under ultraviolet light, a few scatterd tiny spots flouresce and appear to reveal the ground layer, both due to uneven application of top layers of paint and rubs at the tips of canvas weave. These are primarily located in the upper right corner (6 in. from the top and 1 3/4-2 inches from the right; the lower right corner; and at the very edge of the canvas, 17 1/2 inches down from the upper right corner. The work is on a new stretcher with joint fasteners and framed in a dark blonde wood strip frame with gold facing. Please note this work has been requested for the following upcoming exhibition: Houston, Museum of Fine Arts; London, Whitechapel Gallery; Malmö, Moderna Museet, Alice Neel: Painted Truths, March 2010 – January 2011
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Born in 1900, Neel spent more than half a century painting expressionistic portraits of singular emotional acuity, but it was only in the 1960s and 1970s that she gained prominence. Neel's increasing exposure brought her into the world of Andy Warhol, whom she met in 1963 and painted in 1970, exposing Warhol's surgical scars and emotional guardedness. ``Neel's friendship with Warhol also provided her with the opportunity to record the surfacing of the gay underground at a key point of origin, Warhol's entourage. ...The 1970 paintings Jackie Curtis and Rita Red and David Bourdon and Gregory Battcock are her earliest portraits of `gay' couples. All were players in Warhol's films and participants in life at the Factory.'' (Pamela Allara, Pictures of People: Alice Neel's American Portrait Gallery, Hanover, c. 1988, pp. 184-185).

Jackie Curtis (born John Holder) was a transvestite whose most memorable role was in Warhol's 1968 film, Flesh. In this double portrait, Neel perfectly plays on the interchangeability of gender roles. One might assume that Rita Red was the `female' sitter with flaming hair and dress, while Jackie must surely be the boy in jeans and t-shirt. In fact, Rita is the blonde and Jackie is the redhead. Yet, Jackie's more angular posture and aggressive mien reads masculine in contrast with Rita's regressive pose and mild visage. ``Thus `Rita Red' bearing only the nickname bestowed by Jackie, plays a female while retaining his male dress; Jackie, on the other hand, adopts female dress but retains his male position.... Traditional categories are effectively frustrated.'' (Ibid., p.187)