Customer Reviews

Alice Neel Documentary

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4 star:		(2)
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This film is an insightful mix of personal accounts from those who knew Alice Neel, images of her work, and footage of the artist herself. I've seen countless documentaries on many artists - and this ranks among the best. Made by Neel's grandson, some older footage had to have been taken by his father, Neel's son. At the heart of this work is a desire to tell the honest, real account of Alice Neel's life. I especially liked how the well filmed interviews seemed to mirror those sessions Neel had when she painted her subjects. At times, hand held camera work and lighting from spotlights perhaps similar to those she would use helped increase a sense of connection with the interviewed sitter. New images of her paintings, often revealingly somewhat close-up, were very well filmed and integrated perfectly into the older historic footage to help point how her artworks are with us now in the present - always ever relevant. She was a wonderful artist and humanitarian.

I caught this at an early screening by the film department at the College of Santa Fe. Neel had a unique ability to capture the essence of a person. Unfortunately, she fell beneathe the radar of public notice in recent years. The film drags a bit, but is a "must see" for anyone who cares about art and the true (not just representational) portrait of another human being.

I looked up Alice Neel for a homework assignment for a painting class, and found her absolutely fascinating, her life story, and her paintings. The movie is great because it is made by her sons and grandson. It's quirky, but so is she. The great part is you find out what ever happened to Isabella, her daughter, who was taken to Cuba by her x-husband as a baby. I will let you find out for yourself. A great American Artist story. She is my new favorite.

I saw this documentary in San Francisco at a movie theatre and loved it. It is terrific to have my own copy and to be able to see Alice's paintings either on my large tv or smaller computer screens.

I saw this documentary at a friend's house, and plan to buy it as soon as it is available again. My mother was the subject of two portraits by Neel--she was Hartley's visiting nurse in 1941--and neither portrait was acknowledged publicly for decades; the first, "Woman in Blue Hat", was ascribed to the wrong year and my mother was not identified by the gallery; the other, still unnamed, has been in our family's possession since it was done, and only recently (less than 20 years ago) did it come to the attention of the gallery then handling her work.

I realize this isn't much of a review, but I was thrilled to see the documentary and I believe my mother's portrait shows up hanging on the wall of Hartley's home during an interview recorded in the documentary. So, yes, the documentary meant very much to me. Neel may be history to many, but she is still living to me--and let my mother exist in history as well!

My first introduction to Alice Neel's work was at the show Alice Neel: Paintings 1933-1982 at Loyola Marymount. I knew very little of her life, but her art woke me. Through her eyes I began to see the colors. I looked at skin and saw the many colors that make up something as simple as skin tone. She blew up the color spectrum for me and taught me in one afternoon to see. So often in life we see what we think we should see, Alice saw what was there, and then she saw through what was there to the essence of the person. Her portraits were both reductive and complex.

This excellent documentary was a revelation. I learned a great deal about Alice Neel, her art, her life and her place in art history. It is an unflinching look at Alice's life and art, and how they inform each other. Alice Neel holds a place in the iconography of American artists and this documentary will introduce you to her rare and steadfast visual genius.