BOOK 'ALICE NEEL: UPTOWN'

Publisher: David Zwirner Books, Victoria Miro

In 'Alice Neel, Uptown', writer and curator Hilton Als brings together for the first time a body of paintings and works on paper depicting African Americans, Latinos, Asians and other people of colour. Underscoring the innate diversity of Neel's approach, the selection turns to those whose portraits are often overlooked in the canon of art history and to the way this extraordinary painter captured them; "what fascinated her was the breadth of humanity she encountered", Als writes.

The publication, which opens with a preface by Jeremy Lewison, adviser to the Estate of Alice Neel, explores Neel's interest in the diversity of New York's uptown neighbourhoods and the variety of people among whom she lived. This group of portraits includes known figures such as playwright, actress and author Alice Childress, sociologist Horace R. Cayton Jr., community activist Mercedes Arroyo and widely published scholar Harold Cruse, as well as more anonymous individuals such as a nurse, a ballet dancer, a taxi driver, a businessman and a neighbourhood child who ran errands for Neel.

In short, illuminating texts on specific works, written in his characteristic narrative style, Als evokes each sitter's story and offers an insight into Neel and her work, while adding his own perspective. A contemporary and personal approach to the artist's practice, Als's project is "an attempt to honour not only what Neel saw, but the generosity of her vision".

This catalogue is published on the occasion of the 2017 exhibitions of Neel's paintings and drawings at David Zwirner, New York, and Victoria Miro, London.