Sypher on art & design : Alice Neel
Date
Location
Admission
Open to the public
RSVP required
About the Event
Our ever-popular Eleanor Sypher returns with another of her art history talks; this one exploring the life and work of Alice Neel (1900-1984). Neel was one of the most skillful portraitists in 20th Century American Art, active from the 1920s to the 1980s. She presented realistic figures (mostly clothed) when other artists were in the abstract and pop art modes.
With a practiced eye for character, she showed candor and irreverence as she painted family, friends, her neighbors in Spanish Harlem, artists, and activists. The FBI interviewed her in 1955, suspecting she was a Communist (she was not a member, but on the fringe). The two officers summarized her as “a romantic Bohemian-type Communist” to which afterwards, she wanted to paint the two. They declined.
About the Speaker
Eleanor Sypher, holding multiple degrees in the Classics, is an immensely popular staple in Salmagundi’s monthly line of program offerings. Every second Thursday of the month, she presents another exploration of art and design history – stemming from ancient times right into the 21st Century.
Hungry?
Grab a bite to eat after the event in our dining room (a normally member-only benefit)! Ticketed attendees who would like to stay for drinks and dinner should make dining reservations in advance via our Reservations page with the message “Sypher talk”.
