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Henry Geldzahler

Alice Neel American
1967
Not on view
Working against the mainstream as a realist artist, Neel steadily developed her career with incisive, vivid portraits of those around her—neighbors in Spanish Harlem, art-world figures, and members of the women’s movement. Neel painted Henry Geldzahler, The Met’s newly appointed first curator of 20th-century art, possibly to ingratiate herself for inclusion in his upcoming exhibition. With her quick, active brush, she shows him with his legs crossed to hide his stomach and a slightly glum expression. Neel’s depictions of her sitters’ hands often revealed something of their character: Geldzahler’s rubbery left hand appears cartoonish and unsettled. He did not include her in his exhibition.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Henry Geldzahler
  • Artist: Alice Neel (American, Merion Square, Pennsylvania 1900–1984 New York)
  • Date: 1967
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 50 × 33 7/8 in. (127 × 86 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Anonymous Gift, 1981
  • Object Number: 1981.407
  • Rights and Reproduction: © The Estate of Alice Neel
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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