Alice Neel - Portrait of Sam
Alice Neel created Portrait of Sam late in her extensive artistic career. By the 1970s, she almost exclusively painted portraits of close family and friends. The subject of this portrait is likely Neel’s former husband, filmmaker and photographer Sam Brody. The couple split in 1955 but remained close, thus making Sam Brody a possible candidate. Brody and the subject of the portrait share the same long nose, deep-set eyes, and curved, balding head.
Neel said on her work, “…I have this overweening interest in humanity. Even if I’m not working, I’m still analyzing people.” In what ways might Neel have been analyzing Sam Brody? How might the relationship between the two influence the way we see this portrait? The exaggerated proportions contribute to the tension between engagement and indifference in Sam’s figure. Our eyes are drawn to his head and face, but Sam doesn’t engage with us.
Anna Lynn