Alice Neel was born on January 28, 1900 in Merion Square, Pennsylvania and grew up in Colwyn, Pennsylvania before attending the Philadelphia College of Art and Design (now Moore College of Art) from 1921 until 1925. Her father was a clerk for the Pennsylvania Railroad and her mother could trace her lineage back to a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

She always wanted to be an artist. Alice Neel is primarily known for the expressive portraits she began to paint shortly after moving to New York City in 1927. She preferred the term “figure painting” to “portrait” with its connotation of hackwork and flattery.

In 1925, Alice Neel married Carlos Enriquez, a fellow artist who took her to Cuba to live with his wealthy family. It was her leap from Colwyn into another class and culture, a bohemian life. In 1927, they moved to New York City with their baby daughter Santillana. Their child died of diphtheria before she was a year old. A second child Isabella was born in 1928. By 1930, the couple found it impossible to support themselves in New York. Enriquez took Isabella to Cuba, ostensibly for a visit, but then went on to Paris by himself to paint. Alice Neel refused to have the child with her and Isabella remained in Cuba.

In 1932, she began to work at the frantic pace she maintained to the end of her life. Eventually, Alice Neel broke down over the torment between her love for her child and the need to paint. In the summer of 1930, she suffered a nervous breakdown and attempted suicide. The horror of the year Alice Neel spent in confinement stayed with her, but being encouraged to draw again was what finally made her attempt to get well successful.