In 1969, Neal Barr, joined the trend of fashion photographers at that time to build a portfolio of nudes. In 1966, art director Hal Oringer assigned Neal a foundation garment advertising campaign for Formfit Rodgers which involved photographing the nude form. Neal’s portfolio of nudes was to launch many advertising assignments throughout his forty two year career in New York City. The male nude, as a non-erotic platform, was entering a new presentational stage. At this time Neal also came to realize that it was far easier to find the professional male models more willing to lend their talents toward experimentation of the new trend. In 1969 Neal developed a new lighting system for a proposed fashion assignment for Harper’s Bazaar which turned out to be too harsh on models and for fashion garments. The 4x9 foot, two inch thick acrylic raised platform used for the lighting was then put to good use for photographing the nude form. Professional model George Patterson was one of the first models used for this new lighting. This collaboration was to last from 1969 to the year of his untimely death in 1996, from the ages of 27 to 53. This representation is dedicated to his enormous talent and good kind spirit.

Every year during a period of time as a fashion photographer in New York City, my partner and studio manager, Peter McDaniels and myself would take a few weeks off after the cold winter and escape to where the warm sun shined everyday. Our island of choice was Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. At that time the island offered an un-touristy atmosphere with stunning water and landscapes. We always stayed in one of the Roy cabins close to the sea and where giant rocks sprang up from the water and sand. The island had many vistas, both on the calm bayside and on the more rough seaside of the Atlantic Ocean. I always Brought my cameras because I knew that the serenity of the island would soon grow tiresome and that I would be itching to record on camera the islands breathtaking vistas. George Patterson, an African American professional model that I had used in my fashion assignments and as a figure in my experimental studio nude photography, would be unquestionably my first choice to add to the vistas. George would fly in on the last four days of our vacation and arrive at the airport dressed in a white suit without any shirt and lots of long gold chains around his neck, causing quite a stir and heart palpitations amongst the female airport staff. The photographs in this portfolio will tell you all you want to know. I am eternally grateful for the images that have been born from his talents and splendid physique.