{{short description|American photographer (1939–2019)}} {{Infobox person | name = Bruce McNeil | post-nominals = | image = | image_size = | caption = | native_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1939|2|13}} | death_date = {{death date and age|2019|5|16|1939|2|13}} | death_place = Washington, DC, U.S. | birth_place = New York, New York, U.S. | occupation = Photographer | known_for = Environmental river photography | alma mater = }} '''Bruce McNeil''' (February 19, 1939 – May 16, 2019) was an American environmental fine arts photographer predominantly known for photographic work which has documented the Washington, DC area waterways.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Countdown to 2025 - A 30th Anniversary Celebration|url=https://www.anacostiaws.org/blog/countdown-to-2025-a-30th-anniversary-celebration.html|website=Anacostia Watershed Society|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-05-23}}</ref> For over two decades his environmental photography has especially focused on documenting the Anacostia River.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dcartistseast.org/artist/bruce-mcneill/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191003201815/http://dcartistseast.org/artist/bruce-mcneill/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=October 3, 2019|title=Bruce McNeil|website=DC Artists East|access-date=2019-03-11}}</ref> ''The Washington Examiner'' and ''The Washington Post'' have dubbed him as “DC River Man” and “Washington’s River Man.”<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.hillcenterdc.org/artist/bruce-mcneil/|title=Bruce McNeil – Hill Center DC|website=Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-11}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/anacostia-river-a-photographer-sees-art/2011/08/03/gIQAhrRL7K_story.html|title=Anacostia River: A photographer sees its veiled beauty|last=McCarthy|first=Ellen|date=2011-09-29|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2019-03-11}}</ref> He was the organizer of the Anacostia River School of Photography, "a ragtag group of a half-dozen photographers who either live or work in the neighborhood and are devoted to shooting the river and its environs."<ref name=":1" /> McNeill died on May 16, 2019, at the age of 80.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Remembering the life of Bruce MCNEIL |url=https://montrealgazette.remembering.ca/obituary/bruce-mcneil-1076128643 |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=montrealgazette.remembering.ca |language=en}}</ref>
== Work == Mc Neil was a former photographer, lightening and dark room technician, and fabricator of the installations at the McCord Museum in the William Notman Photographic Archives, and assistant to the designer and photographer for the MacDonald Steward Foundation.<ref name=":0" /> His work has been exhibited at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, Sandy Spring Museum, Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History & Culture, George Washington University Museum, Parish Gallery, Hill Center Galleries at the Old Naval Hospital, and the Anacostia Art Center.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2002/02/14/david-levinthals-superficial-side/21dbc577-fa69-4081-9da4-d9c349ef834d/|title=David Levinthal's Superficial Side|last=Dawson|first=Jessica|date=2002-02-14|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2019-03-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/arts/blog/13079275/anacostias-arts-scene-is-growing-who-should-it-be-for|title=Anacostia's Arts Scene Is Growing. Who Should It Be For?|last=Ericksson|first=Amanda|date=2013-05-22|website=Washington City Paper|language=en|access-date=2019-03-14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.eastcityart.com/features/new-public-art-project-connects-anacostia-historic-district-river/|title=New Public Art Project Connects Anacostia Historic District to River|last=Hutinet|first=Phil|date=2017-10-30|website=East City Art|access-date=2019-03-14}}</ref> McNeil is the recipient of the East of the River Distinguished Artist Award in 2016,<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.archdevelopment.org/bruce-mcneil-is-the-2016-east-of-the-river-distinguished-artist-award-recipient/|title=Bruce McNeil is the 2016 East of the River Distinguished Artist Award Recipient|last=Davis|first=Kate|date=2015-08-15|website=Arch Development|access-date=2019-03-11}}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and his work is in the permanent collection of the city of Washington, DC.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/arts/blog/13076685/arts-roundup-gallery-edition|title=Arts Roundup: Gallery? Edition|last=Fischer|first=Jonathan|date=2011-11-18|website=Washington City Paper|language=en|access-date=2019-04-30}}</ref>
== Press ==
In discussing McNeil's photos at the city's Honfleur Gallery in 2012, a ''Washington Post'' writer noted that "McNeil’s work centers around the growth of the neighborhood through manipulating images of the Anacostia River."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/therootdc/post/sixth-annual-east-of-the-river-photo-exhibition-continues-to-bring-culture-and-change-to-anacostia/2012/07/13/gJQApPSqhW_blog.html|title=Sixth annual "East of the River" photo exhibition continues to bring culture and change to Anacostia|last=Williams|first=Erin|date=2012-07-13|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2019-03-11}}</ref> In reviewing the same exhibition, the ''Post''<nowiki/>'s art critic added that "Bruce McNeil’s “A River Divide — A Tale of Two Cities,” for example, is an impressionistic photograph of light on the Anacostia."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/visual_arts/water-theme-allows-for-dense-complicated-artwork-at-old-print-gallery/2012/08/30/a7b70830-f215-11e1-a612-3cfc842a6d89_story.html|title='Water' theme allows for dense, complicated artwork|last=Jenkins|first=Mark|date=2012-08-30|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2019-03-11}}</ref>
== References == <references />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:McNeil, Bruce}} Category:Photographers from Washington, D.C. Category:African-American contemporary artists Category:American contemporary artists Category:20th-century African-American artists Category:21st-century African-American people Category:African-American photographers Category:American environmental artists Category:1939 births Category:2019 deaths