Alice Neel (1900-1984) talks about her life, her ideas on art, and the world at large in this book. She painted well-known figures in art, literature, music, politics as well as her family and friends - depicting them clothed and sometimes naked, thus exposing their vulnerability. Never compromising, she kept to one goal: to paint people as she saw them. By painting individuals with all their idiosyncrasies, Neel also recorded universal constants - pregnancy, motherhood, death, and mourning. Included in this book are figure paintings from every period, as well as landscapes, still lifes, and interiors.