Will McBride (January 10, 1931 – January 29, 2015) was an American photographer in

reportage Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

art photography Fine-art photography is photography created in line with the vision of the photographer as artist, using photography as a medium for creative expression. The goal of fine-art photography is to express an idea, a message, or an emotion. This stan ...

and

book illustration The illustration of manuscript books was well established in ancient times, and the tradition of the illuminated manuscript thrived in the West until the invention of printing. Other parts of the world had comparable traditions, such as the Persi ...

as well as a painter and sculptor.

Life

McBride was born in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, Missouri and grew up in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He was trained as a painter by

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...

and went on to study drawing and painting at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

, where he graduated in 1953. From 1953 to 1955 he served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

, Germany as a lieutenant, and would remain in Germany until his death. 1969 McBride divorced his wife Barbara (née Wilke, married 1959) with whom he had three children: Shawn-, Robin-, and Brian McBride. His work has been published in the German youth magazine ''

Twen ''Twen'' was a West German magazine that was published from 1959 to 1971, and known for its innovative design and typography. History and profile ''Twen'' was launched in 1959 as a bimonthly magazine and the first issue appeared in April 1959. ...

'', among other European magazines. ''Twen'' provoked a scandal when they published McBride's portraits of his pregnant wife Barbara in 1960. The bulk of his photography work is not often seen in the USA. McBride's work includes nudity and has experienced

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

. McBride received censure for the photography in his 1975 book ''

Show Me! ''Show Me!'' is a sex education book by photographer Will McBride. It appeared in 1974 in German under the title ''Zeig Mal!'', written with psychiatrist Helga Fleischhauer-Hardt for children and their parents. It was translated into English a y ...

'' (German title ''Zeig Mal!''). Solo exhibitions of his work since 2000 have included at the Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Bologna, the Dany Keller Galerie, Munich, Galerie argus fotokunst, , Berlin and

C/O Berlin C/O Berlin is a private exhibition space for photography and visual media in Berlin. It is located in Amerika Haus Berlin by Zoologischer Garten station, Charlottenburg, where it has more than 2,500 square metres of space. C/O Berlin presents work ...

. In 2004 McBride received the Dr. Erich Salomon Prize from the

German Society for Photography German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

. He died in 2015, age 84.

The Will McBride Archive

Following an agreement between the heirs, ownership of McBride's entire artistic estate, including 65 years of photographic production and correspondence are incorporated in the Will McBride Archive located in Bristow, Germany. This includes the ownership of copyright which has passed to his son, Shawn M. McBride. The archive is accessible for research, collaborates with publishers and facilitates exhibitions, confirms authenticity of work and issues a limited number of reprints.

Selected books

* ''

'', 1975. (German title ''Zeig Mal!''). * ''Foto-Tagebuch 1953 - 1961'', 1982. * ''Adenauer und seine Kinder - Fotografien von 1956-1968'', 1994. * ''My Sixties'', 1994. * ''I, Will McBride'', 1997. (Retrospective) * ''

Coming of Age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

'', Aperture, 1999. (Introductory essay, "Ways of Being Human", by

Guy Davenport Guy Mattison Davenport (November 23, 1927 – January 4, 2005) was an American writer, translator, illustrator, painter, intellectual, and teacher. Life Guy Davenport was born in Anderson, South Carolina, in the foothills of Appalachia on Novem ...

). * ''Situationen Projekte: Ein Fotobuch'', 2000. *

References

External links

Will McBride Archive

{{DEFAULTSORT:McBride, Will 1931 births 2015 deaths American emigrants to Germany Photographers from Illinois Photographers from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Nude photography Artists from Chicago School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Syracuse University alumni University of Vermont alumni United States Army officers Military personnel from Illinois