ALICE NEEL: Women

Instantly recognizable near-grotesques, Neel's portraits may not be quite flattering, but they are always revealing, of subjects and the psycho-cultural space they inhabit. Collected here by Carr, deputy director of the National Portrait Gallery, these 125 crisply reproduced color plates draw an intense power via their restriction to women and girls: one can feel the artist meditating on (and sometimes seething about) what it means to be a woman. A portrait of the artist Isabel Bishop shows her in a simple blue wool dress, looking wryly askance. "Isabetta" shows a naked, pre-pubescent girl standing and staring directly at the viewer, like a powerfully defetishized Balthus. The paintings are organized by subject ("Mother and Child," "Pose," "Children," "Nudes") rather than chronology, and it's a decision that works—Neel's deliberate looks come across clearly through repetition of gesture and posture. Anyone turned off by Neel (1900–1984), should take a second look via this book; fans looking for a concentrated dose of Neel at her best should look no further. (Nov.)

FYI:The re-release of Pierre Schneider's Matisse, generally considered to be the definitive study of the artist, is also due this month from Rizzoli. Out of print for 10 years, this grand book, with 880 pictures (230 in color) and a new preface, arrives in time for the blockbuster Matisse-Picasso exhibit, opening in New York in February. (Rizzoli, $100 752p ISBN 0-8478-0546-8)