My heart is full and my soul refreshed. I spent the day at the MFA of Houston soaking up the work of Alice Neel, my favorite portrait painter. It is a huge collection and I definitely will be going back. She was a remarkable woman for her time and never really well-known for many years. I so admire her and that even though her work was not well accepted until her late years, she just kept on painting. I watched the film of her placing her pregnant model and she tried several placements and poses until it was just right. I was glad she placed the model near a mirror which gave off a reflection included in the painting. Her treatment of background I find fascinating as she frequently leaves much of it perhaps drawn but not painted which gives great prominance to the figure. Her figures are so full of emotion which she manages to capture mostly through their eyes and the eyes are always confronting the viewer...very interesting. Only her sad figure of Andy Warhol has his eyes closed. John Singer Sargent is also exhibiting and along with his seascapes (many done between the ages of 18 and 24...geezus) is a large exhibit of Sargents owned by the Museum or Houston collectors...an impressive collection. I particularly like his more Impressionistic work.
I feel so fortunate to live in a city with outstanding museums...yay Houston!
2 comments:
Lovely and a great birthday present to yourself!
I would love to see this show. I want to come to Houston and take a workshop with Liz Hill. There are so many fantastic women painters in your area it makes my head spin. And Happy, happy birthday!!
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