All these events play a crucial part in understanding these images. This portrait painted in 1976 is not just a depiction of a woman lying down on a couch. This artwork sends a powerful message as it represents women's autonomy in a nontraditional setting, highlighting the true emotions one can feel during motherhood, vulnerability, and imperfections. At the time, the United States was struggling with the ending of the Vietnam War and experiencing a second wave of the feminist movement. These events deeply shaped Neel’s work. Reflected in the portrait of Lucille Rhodes shown pregnant, the unusual pose and beauty standard reflected a sort of vulnerability that challenges depictions of women. But Neel instead emphasizes the complexity of emotions, showing Rhodes lost in her thoughts and real skin tones. Unideal body form and visible sickly speak as a demand for truth and authenticity in the portrayal of women. Neel always had a gal to gp against the usual “male gaze” which can be reflected her. Using conventional standard of beauty often showing women in their real state with wrinkles, sagging skin, and true emotions marks as feminist acts. A personal story Neel of shares is the death of her daught to diptheria, reflecting the hardships of motherhood. With the first hand experience of these hardships Neels understand the maternal exhaustion often reflected in her artwork content pregant womens/mothers showing great empathy for others. With the complexity of all these experiences of women during this such such as bodily autonomy, economic struggle and the pressure of roles many were expected to perform. Ultimately, Portrait of Lucille Rhodes is reflection of both polictical roughness throughout the 1970’s and she was committed to prespenteing the true emotions of her subjects. With the idea of feminism, personal loss, and post war struggles, Neel’s portait challenges the audience to face the real often unseen lives of women.

Work Cited:

• The March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights: 1979.” PBS NewsHour, PBS, 19 Oct. 2019, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/history/march-washington-lesbian-gay-rights 

• Zwirner, David, Alice Neel/ART + MEMORY, Aug 22, 2023, https://youtu.be/LNdLHHqynKc?si=ZsVkamc0Ia6KzdXS 
• Smith, Roberta. “Alice Neel: People Come First.” The New York Times, 29 July 2021,

https://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/alice-neel-people-come-first/docview/2556133338/se-2?accountid=13158 

• From the Vaults: Alice Neel, 'Lucille Rhodes,' Margaret Murphy." The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Met, 2020, https://www.metmuseum.org/perspectives/from-the-vaults-alice-neel-lucille-rhodes-margaret-murphy. 
• "Feminism: The Second Wave." National Women's History Museum, 2020, www.womenshistory.org/exhibits/feminism-second-wave