Alice
Neel

Alice Neel’s current auction record is held, not by one of her compelling portraits, but instead by a study of a room. Dr Finger’s Waiting Room (1966) achieved $2.5million at Christie's New York in May 2021, more than double its high estimate of $800,000. Despite not featuring the eponymous Dr. Louis Finger, prominent New York physician, the work captures all the personality and character of a full portrait. The painting remained in the Finger family collection after its creation until the 2021 sale, meaning that its emergence into the market generated significant excitement among collectors. While unique in its subject matter, the work captures all of the interest, colour, and depth Neel used to explore the professional classes of mid-century New York.

Neel’s The De Vegh Twins (1975) is a masterclass in capturing both physical likeness and distinct personality. These identical twins, while eerily similar, are both depicted as individuals with nuances of expression and pose that make them distinct. The de Vegh twins, Antonia and Suzanne, were the daughters of sculptor and art restorer Geza de Vegh, who had been restoring Neel’s work since 1957. Neel had developed a friendship with the family, and painted Geza’s Wife (1964) a decade earlier. The painting sold at Christie's New York in May 2023, after being held in the prestigious Gerald Fineberg Collection since 1985. The piece was created during the height of Neel’s creative powers, as she was experiencing international acclaim in the 1970s, just one year after her landmark 1974 retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

This 1969 portrait achieved its impressive result at Sotheby's New York in May 2024, marking the most recent sale on this list. The subject, Gerard Malanga, was a significant figure in Andy Warhol's Factory and a renowned poet and photographer in his own right. Neel had a deep connection to New York's vibrant cultural scene, painting portraits of many of its key players - artistic luminaries that suited her bold, almost sculptural approach to portraiture. Upon meeting Neel, Malanga remarked that she “could’ve been my long-lost mother.” He went on to photograph Neel posing in front of the finished portrait. This familiarity is visible in her portrayal of Malanga, which seems to reveal both his public persona and a more vulnerable private self.