Brendan S. Carroll reviews the exhibition Benny Andrews, Alice Neel, Bob Thompson at Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York, on view through April 7, 2012.

Carroll writes: "What the artists in this show have in common is a commitment to paint the people in their lives. To look at these faces and the bodies on view is to see men and women who 'lead lives of quiet desperation,' toiling on the moldy rim of society. The most engaging work balances realist representation and expressionism."