Will McBride
Will McBride (January 10, 1931 – January 29, 2015) was an American photographer in reportage, art photography and book illustration as well as a painter and sculptor.
Will McBride
![Will McBride and female model, Southern France, 1975. The photograph was taken during 6th Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie, Arles, 1975, at 'Les Beaux de Provence' caves. Will was in a strange mood, at that time [photographer was not sure whether he might be cuffed his ears -- which was not the case;]. Nikon 24mm lens.](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/Will_McBride_1975.jpg/1280px-Will_McBride_1975.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
Wolfgang H. Wögerer, Wien · Self-photographed · CC BY 3.0
- Name
- Will McBride
- Born
- January 10, 1931
- Birthplace
- St.
- Died
- 29 January 2015
- Place of death
- U.S.
- Occupation
- Photographer
- Nationality
- United States
- Fields
- photography · art of sculpture · painting · illustration
- Education
- Syracuse University · School of the Art Institute of Chicago · University of Vermont · Freie Universität Berlin
- Honours
- Dr. Erich Salomon Prize
- Languages
- English · German
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Will McBride (January 10, 1931 – January 29, 2015) was an American photographer in reportage, art photography and book illustration as well as a painter and sculptor.
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wikidata · Q2576541
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Will McBride • Born — January 10, 1931 • Birthplace — St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. • Died — 29 January 2015 • Place of death — U.S. • Occupation — Photographer
Life
Life
McBride was born in St. Louis, Missouri and grew up in Chicago. He was trained as a painter by Norman Rockwell and went on to study drawing and painting at Syracuse University, where he graduated in 1953. From 1953 to 1955 he served in the United States Army at Würzburg, 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, 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. McBride received censure for the photography in his 1975 book Show Me! (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, Haus am Waldsee, Berlin and C/O Berlin. In 2004 McBride received the Dr. Erich Salomon Prize from the German Society for Photography. He died in 2015, age 84.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1931
Will McBride was born on 10 January 1931.
2015
Will McBride died on 29 January 2015.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
St. Louis.
Birth place
Berlin.
Death place
Selected books
• Show Me!, 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, Aperture, 1999. (Introductory essay, "Ways of Being Human", by Guy Davenport). • Situationen Projekte: Ein Fotobuch, 2000. *

Grabschild auf dem Grab des amerikanischen Photographen Will McBride auf dem Französischen Friedhof II in Berlin.
Harvey Kneeslapper

Das Grab des amerikanischen Photographen Will McBride auf dem Französischen Friedhof II in Berlin.
Harvey Kneeslapper
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.
References
Citations
References
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authority record
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Further particulars
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Further particulars
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Formation and teaching. McBride studied at Syracuse University, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, University of Vermont and Freie Universität Berlin. McBride received Dr. Recorded with the occupation visual artist. McBride worked at Berlin. Recorded as having studied at Syracuse University, School of the Art Institute of Chicago and University of Vermont.
Recognition and collections
Erich Salomon Prize
Work by Will McBride is
Städel Museum and J. Paul Getty Museum
Activity and practice
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Paintings
19,183 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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- Will BlakeArtist
- Will CottonArtist
- Will LongstaffArtist
- Will SampsonArtist
- Willard MetcalfArtist
- Willard NashArtist
- Willem AdamsArtist
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