Nancy Natale examines Phoebe Hoban's book Alice Neel: The Art of Not Sitting Pretty. "Hoban's book traces all of Neel's "quintessential bohemian" life while proposing her as the archetype of women's coming into their own: 'Neel's life is not just the saga of a great American painter; it is a great American saga… the life of an independent woman who was first and foremost an artist.' "