Otto Neals (born December 11, 1931) is an American painter and sculptor. Throughout his career, Neals worked as an illustrator at the Brooklyn Post Office while pursuing independent art projects in his spare time. He currently resides in

Crown Heights, Brooklyn Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. Crown Heights is bounded by Washington Avenue to the west, Atlantic Avenue (New York City), Atlantic Avenue to the north, ...

Early life and education

Born in South Carolina, Neals moved to New York at the age of four and displayed a passion for painting from a young age. Neals studied

commercial art Commercial art is the art of creative services, referring to art created for commercial purposes, primarily advertising. Commercial art uses a variety of platforms (magazines, websites, apps, television, etc.) for viewers with the intent of promo ...

at George Westinghouse Vocational High School, and briefly attended the

Brooklyn Museum Art School The Brooklyn Museum Art School was a non-degree-granting professional school that opened at the Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn, New York in the summer of 1941. The Brooklyn Museum Art School provided instruction for amateur artists as well until Ja ...

. Neals studied under notable artists such as Isaac Soyer, Krishna Reddy, Mohammed Khalil, Roberto DeLomanica, and Vivian Schuyler Key.

Career

Neals has been a member of the Weusi Artist Collective since the 1960s. Neals has been commissioned to execute several public works, including ten bronze plaques for the

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

Walk of Fame, a 20-foot mural in Kings County Hospital, a bronze of

Percy Sutton Percy Ellis Sutton (November 24, 1920 – December 26, 2009) was an American political and business leader. An activist in the Civil Rights Movement and lawyer, he was also a Freedom Rider and the legal representative for Malcolm X. He was ...

at the

City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...

, and a bronze monument inspired by the children's book Peter's Chair as centerpiece of an Imagination Playground in

Prospect Park Prospect Park may refer to: Businesses * Prospect Park (production company), entertainment production company *Prospect Park Productions NZ, theatre company based in Dunedin, New Zealand Places New Zealand * Prospect Park, New Zealand, a portion ...

. His work is exhibited in the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

, and the

Columbia Museum of Art The Columbia Museum of Art is an art museum in the American city of Columbia, South Carolina. History The Columbia Museum of Art was originally in the 1908 private residence of the city's Taylor family. Located on Senate Street in Columbia, ad ...

. He features in the private collections of

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American civil rights activist and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte ( ; born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927 – April 25, 2023) was an American singer, actor, and civil rights activist who popularized calypso music with international audiences in the 1950s and 1960s. Belafonte ...

, and

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...

, and was the subject of an exhibition in the gallery inside the

Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch The Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch is a triumphal arch at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, New York, United States. Designed by John Hemenway Duncan and built from 1889 to 1892, the arch commemorates American Civil War veterans. The monument is mad ...

at Grand Army Plaza. In June 2015, the

Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation The Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation (or BSRC, referred to locally in short as Restoration) is a community development corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, and the first ever to be established in the United States. Background ...

held a 50-year retrospective of his sculptures. Neals is a founding artist of the Fulton Art Fair, the oldest Black visual arts event in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Neals has been the recipient of the

New York City Art Commission The New York City Public Design Commission, previously the Municipal Art Commission, is the agency of the New York City government that reviews permanent works of architecture, landscape architecture, and art proposed on or over city-owned proper ...

's Award for Excellence in Design.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neals, Otto Living people African-American artists 1931 births American illustrators United States Postal Service people People from Crown Heights, Brooklyn 21st-century African-American artists 20th-century African-American artists