Alice Neel Value: Top Prices Paid at Auction

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.

Light (1984), painted just four years before her death, is a return to the interior scenes seen 20 years earlier in Dr Finger’s Waiting Room (1966). As its title suggests, the painting is a simple composition built around the nature of light and shadow - a tension that elevates all of her work. She was 80 years old when the painting was completed, making this the culmination of her lifelong passion for portraying domestic scenes that balance psychological depth with technical prowess. Like Dr Finger's Waiting Room, the painting sold in 2021 at Christie's New York, achieving £500,000 more than its high estimate and proving the enduring popularity of works from throughout Neel's career.

This 1968 portrait, which sold at Christie's New York in May 2023, is a prime example of Neel's groundbreaking depictions of pregnant women. Throughout her career, Neel challenged traditional representations of pregnancy in art, portraying her subjects with honesty, tenderness, and dignity. She believed painting pregnant women was “perfectly legitimate,” and, as an artist, “plastically very exciting.” This painting of Bette Homitzky captures both the physical and emotional aspects of impending motherhood with Neel’s characteristic directness and empathy.

Selling at Sotheby's New York in November 2023, this 1972 portrait captures Warhol Superstar and playwright Jackie Curtis. The painting demonstrates Neel's significant connection to New York's avant-garde scene and her progressive approach to gender representation. Her portrayal of Curtis, who was known for fluid gender expression, shows her ability to capture complex identities with sensitivity and insight, making this work particularly relevant to contemporary audiences.

Created around 1942, this portrait is the earliest on this list. It achieved its impressive result at Sotheby's New York in November 2021 after remaining relatively unseen since its creation. The work represents an important period in Neel's career, following her move to Spanish Harlem. The real-life Mady was one of the daughters of photographer and film critic, Sam Brody, whose family became the subject of many portraits for Neel. This portrait demonstrates her early development of the direct, psychologically penetrating style that would become her hallmark, albeit without the particular artistic flourish and definition that is clear in her mature work. Its success at auction is testament to the importance of preserving the transitional parts of artists’ careers; in Neel’s case, the evolution of her distinctive approach to portraiture amidst the turmoil of World War II.

This 1968 double portrait secured its result at Christie's London in March 2024, marking a significant achievement for Neel's market outside the US. The painting depicts influential gallerist David McKee, who would later represent Neel, alongside his first wife Jane. The work exemplifies Neel's ability to capture complex relationship dynamics, with the suggestive title, spatial arrangement, and body language of her subjects revealing subtle psychological tensions. In terms of style, the piece possesses the blue outlines and colour application reminiscent of Cezanne that is so typical of Neel’s work.

Achieving this strong result at Sotheby's New York in May 2021, this 1977 portrait remained in the Hope family collection from its creation until the sale. The subjects, art historian Henry Hope and his wife Sally, were significant figures in the art world and early supporters of Neel's work. Henry Hope wrote a lengthy introduction to Neel’s work for a magazine review in 1978, a year after this portrait was painted. The painting remained in their family until its sale in 2021.

The November 2009 sale of Jackie Curtis And Ritta Redd (1970) at Sotheby's New York remained a record for Neel’s work until 2021, when four auction sales surpassed it. The painting sold from the collection of Mary Schiller Myers and Louis S. Myers, both prominent patrons of the arts. This vibrant portrait shows Neel's continued exploration of New York's downtown scene, again revisiting Warhol’s Superstars. The work captures Factory regular Jackie Curtis alongside friend Ritta Redd, demonstrating Neel's unique ability to penetrate New York's underground scene and reveal the vulnerable humanity beneath her subjects' public personas. This sale helped establish the strong market for Neel's portraits of significant cultural figures that continues today.