b. 1960, Fort Rupert, British Columbia
First Nations Affiliation: Kwakiutl

Website: http://www.neel.org/dneel/

David Neel comes from a family of prominent artists, including grandmother Ellen Neel. A photographer, mixed media artist, and carver, Neel studied fine arts and anthropology at Calgary's Mount Royal College from 1978 to 1980, and the University of Kansas until 1982. Following a career as a professional photographer in Texas, Neel returned to Canada and conceived two important projects: one documenting words and images of elders, the other the revival of Northwest coast great dugout canoes. Neel has also carried out a series of twenty carved masks of contemporary subjects, such as the Mask of the Injustice System (1991), reproduced in the catalogue for the milestone exhibition, INDIGENA.

R E C E N T   E X H I B I T I O N S

S E L E C T E D   C O L L E C T I O N S

Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia
Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, Ontario
Canadian Embassy, Guatemala City, Guatemala
Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Québec
Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, Ottawa, Ontario
Carleton University Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
Camosun College, Victoria, British Columbia
Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta
Indian Art Centre, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
Kwagiulth Museum, Cape Mudge, British Columbia
National Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of the American Indian
Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, British Columbia
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
Surrey Art Gallery, Surrey, British Columbia
Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Ontario
University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, BC
Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia
Vancouver Centennial Museum, Vancouver, British Columbia

S E L E C T E D   B I B L I O G R A P H Y

"Artist aims to reflect true Native spirit in masks (David Neel)." Vancouver Sun, 1 April 1991, p. B7

"Beyond the face of justice: The Mask of the Injustice System is a new work by BC photographer and artist David Neel of the Fort Rupert Kwakiutl Indian band." Globe & Mail Metro Edition, 15 May 1991, p. A17.

"Chiefs and elders (exhibit entitled Our Chiefs and Elders: Photographs by David Neel, Kwagiutl, at Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia)." Photo Life 15, no. 9 (November 1990): 10.

Cronin, Ray. "Captain Vancouver by Charles Comfort: Four Native perspectives." ARTSatlantic 15, no. 3 (Fall/Winter 1997): 20-21. [Review: Confederation Centre Art Gallery. Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island]

"(David Neel) draws inspiration from Oka." Vancouver Sun, 1 October 1990, p. C9.

"The great canoes." Windspeaker 13, no. 7 (November 1995): 12. [Review]

Greer, Sandy. Review of Our Chiefs & Elders: Words & Photographs of Native Leaders by David Neel. Quill & Quire 58, no. 11 (November 1992): 27.

"Kwagiult artist addresses world issues." Kahtou 9, no. 3 (April 1991): 18.

McMaster, Gerald, and Lee-Ann Martin, eds. INDIGENA: Contemporary Native Perspectives. Vancouver, British Columbia: Douglas & McIntyre, 1992./ INDIGENA.: Perspectives autochtones contemporaines. Hull, Québec: Musée canadien des civilisations, 1992.

Mohr, Merilyn S. Review of Our Chiefs & Elders: Words & Photographs of Native Leaders by David Neel. Books In Canada 21, no. 9 (December 1992): 24-26.

"Native artist (David Neel) finds inspiration in battle over a golf course." The (Montréal) Gazette, 1 October 1990, p. B9.

Neel, David. "Artist's statement." B.C. Studies, Special Issue in Celebration of Our Survival no. 89 (1991).

Neel, David. Our Chiefs and Elders: Words and Photographs of Native Leaders. Vancouver, British Columbia: University of British Columbia Press; Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press, 1992.

Neel, David. The Great Canoes: Reviving a Northwest Coast Tradition. Afterword by Tom Heidlebaugh. Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press, 1995.

"Portrait of a people: Native artist David Neel says his people maintain a delicate balancing act." Toronto Star, 15 December 1992, p. B1, B3.

Review of Our Chiefs & Elders: Words & Photographs of Native Leaders by David Neel. Anthropologica 35, no. 1 (1993): 151-153.

Review of Our Chiefs & Elders: Words & Photographs of Native Leaders by David Neel. British Journal of Canadian Studies 8, no. 2 (1993): 305-306.

Review of Our Chiefs & Elders: Words & Photographs of Native Leaders by David Neel. Kahtou News 1, no. 8 (1 October 1992): 14-15.

Review: University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology. Vancouver Sun, 25 August 1990, p. D10.

Review: Vancouver Museum, Vancouver. C Magazine 42 (Summer 1994): 55-56.

Review: Vancouver Museum, Vancouver. Vancouver Sun, 5 June 1993, p. C7

White, Ellen. Kwulasulwut: Stories from the Coast Salish. Illustrations by David Neel. Penticton, British Columbia: Theytus Books, [1981]1992.

Witness to Wilderness: The Clayoquot Sound Anthology. Vancouver, British Columbia: Arsenal Pulp Press Ltd., 1994.

Wyatt, Gary. Spirit Faces: Contemporary Masks of the Northwest Coast. Vancouver, British Columbia: Douglas & McIntyre, 1994.