Bruce McNeil (February 13, 1939 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

– May 16, 2019 in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

) was an American environmental fine arts photographer predominantly known for photographic work which has documented the

area waterways. For over two decades his environmental photography has especially focused on documenting the

Anacostia River The Anacostia River is a river in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States. It flows from Prince George's County in Maryland into Washington, D.C., where it joins with the Washington Channel to empty into the Potomac River at Buzzard Point. ...

. ''

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'' and ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' have dubbed him as “DC River Man” and “Washington’s River Man.” 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."

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. 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 The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

Museum,

Parish Gallery Parish Gallery was a Washington, DC art gallery located in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington. It was active from 1991 to 2013. History The Parish Gallery was founded by Norman Parish in 1991. Parish had moved to Washington, DC from Chi ...

, Hill Center Galleries at the Old Naval Hospital, and the Anacostia Art Center. McNeil is the recipient of the East of the River Distinguished Artist Award in 2016, and his work is in the permanent collection of the city of Washington, DC.

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." In reviewing the same exhibition, the ''Post'''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."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McNeil, Bruce Photographers from Washington, D.C. African-American contemporary artists American contemporary artists African-American artists 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people African-American photographers Environmental artists Living people 1939 births