Posted: Friday, 25 January 2008 10:54AM
Alice Neel
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(not rated)
The great Oscar Wilde wrote The Picture of Dorian Gray, reminding us that a portrait can discover a person's inner self. The true story of Alice Neel is less demonic, but also serves to open up the art of portrait painting to psychological exploration. Alice Neel (1900-1984) evoked strong feelings from her sitters, though when we meet her in this documentary she is calmly looking back on a tumultuous life in art and romance. Her two sons are in deep conflict about the price they paid for their mother's obsession with her art and with her strong, wild men. Directed by son Andrew Neel, one feels a distance, as if Alice herself still was a portrait waiting to be painted. But at least she had tremendous talent and passion, an unusual and gifted American rebel and artist. The film also gives us a new perspective on portrait painting.
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