Identity System, 2021
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4d3887c0b7544088a3c06ffd0bc3c67421688de62bfb34fb8d22b8bbae83ba80/34_deYoung_AliceNeel_GarySexton_3_9_22.jpg)
Alice Neel: People Come First, the first comprehensive West Coast retrospective of Neel’s work hosted by the de Young museum, positions Neel as one of the century’s most radical painters, a champion of social justice whose long-standing commitment to humanist principles inspired her life as well as her art.
Drawing on Neel’s activism and the kind of spontaneous hand-lettering that is produced for protests, the title was typeset in Sunset Gothic, a painterly sans-serif with expressive and humanistic qualities. The title and subtitle are set at the same scale, establishing a non-hierarchical relationship between the artist and her sitters. The title also includes an underline which references the signature blue contour outline, a defining stylistic feature within Neel’s body of work.
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8852ba2eeed5401557b82d54eeaea38337d5c27af9adbf2bf8cc82fadd0107d9/MAR_22_Alice-Neel_Transit-Shelters_FINAL.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/384ce977a49730fa61e6599c88b6ade5305e6ab9a815063e887b5a6487dc3a9b/street-pole_resized.png)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6469dec5ede61468095693ef0b31183a438fe3ead668368bc0f3a97e5ba21257/AliceNeel_RackCard_Invite.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/48198bfe194dbba6108f9c156dc78faa4d38e9281ae546f3a276c76b59ba5941/18_deYoung_AliceNeel_GarySexton_3_9_22.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/844be4d4da28123197703636d75fa446699e5481607e5ed82aa914177d12b079/Alice-Neel_Web_3.jpg)
Typeset in Sunset Gothic. Installation photography by Gary Sexton.