Alice Neel was an American artist who grew up in Pennsylvania and graduated from the Philadelphia School of Design for Women in 1925. She was known for her paintings which were considered “confrontational” and “brutally honest.” In her artwork, Neel points out the flaws most people try to conceal to stimulate emotion. She emphasizes the ideal image everyone has in their head about what they should look like, or more specifically the image that a man conjures in his head when thinking about a nude woman. Her artwork stresses that there is no ideal body type and we must learn to accept the way we look, imperfections and all.
In Self-Portait, Neel paints a self portrait in a very vulnerable state, posing nude for her audience. She allows the viewers to see all that she is, and she is not ashamed to show the reality of her 84-year-old body.
In Nancy and Olivia, Neel shoots down the stereotype of woman in society. The mother, carrying her child in her arms, looks alarmed and her eyes show that she is quite frightened. The stereotype that the woman is the nurturer and the caretaker suggests that all women are meant to be mothers, and they are only good for the role of a mother and nothing more.
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