McNeill, Robert H.
1917-2005 · Contribution: 1936-1978
Photographer
Documented Black community life in Washington, D.C., for more than four decades while producing what became a foundational visual record of African American life in Depression-era Virginia for the Works Progress Administration’s 1940 publication The Negro in Virginia
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Quick facts
- Born
- 1917, Washington, D.C.
- Active since
- 1936
- Category
- Press & Photography
- Best known for
- Photographing Depression-era Black Virginia and Black Washington
Impact on the world
McNeill produced a foundational visual record of segregated Black Virginia, one that a Black photographer could capture because subjects trusted him where white photographers could not gain access.
Sources
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
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