Images from the Robert J. McLeod Photography Collection

Dublin Core

Description

This collection contains a sample of images photographed by Bob McLeod. The collection also includes some images photographed by his wife, Beth Witrogen McLeod. The body of work consists of photographs of important local and visiting dancers and dance companies, such as the San Francisco Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. Prominent dancers and choreographers featured include such notables as Mikhail Baryshnikov, Lew Christensen, Michael Smuin, and several prominent members of the San Francisco Ballet such as Joanna Berman, Evelyn Cisneros, Christopher Stowell in works by noted choreographers such as Christensen, Helgi Tomasson, George Balachine, Frederick Ashton, and Jerome Robbins.

Creator

Robert J. (Bob) McLeod (1946?-2006) was a San Francisco Bay native, growing up in Daly City. When McLeod was 12 years old, his father passed away, his older brother George then gave him his first camera, a Brownie Hawkeye. McLeod then began taking photos around his neighborhood, he would then process the photographs
 in the small darkroom that he had made himself in the family's basement closet. After attending San Francisco State University for a limited time, McLeod began to work at the San Francisco Examiner in 1967, first as a copy boy, working his way up to director of photography in 1989. He worked with both the San Francisco Examiner and the San Francisco Chronicle as a photographer and photo editor. Throughout his career, McLeod photographed significant events and figures of San Francisco history such as Harvey Milk, Patty Hearst, and the aftermath of the Loma Prieta earthquake.

McLeod was married to photographer, reporter, and San Francisco Examiner copy editor, Beth Witrogen for 25 years. Together they completed a series of images entitled The Caregivers, which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1995. The series also won second
 place in the Peninsula Press Awards, and other awards and accolades.

McLeod's passion laid with photographing dancers in the Bay Area, from novices to professionals, including but not limited to Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rudolf Nureyev, and Gelsey Kirkland. McLeod also chronicled the rise of San Francisco Ballet principal Joanna Berman from her time at Marin Ballet School to the early years of her career at San Francisco Ballet. He photographed several other Bay Area companies such as Oakland Ballet, San Francisco Moving Company, and SF Dance Spectrum. His photographs offer a unique view of dancers in rehearsal and during performances. McLeod was diagnosed with lung cancer, though he was never a smoker. He retired a few months before his death on January 3, 2006 at his home in Antioch, California at the age of 59.

Date

circa 1970s-1999

Identifier

002.087

Subject

San Francisco Ballet
American Ballet Theatre
Christensen, Lew, 1909-1984
Tomasson, Helgi, 1942-
Smuin, Michael
Baryshnikov, Mikhail, 1948-
Berman, Joanna
Cisneros, Evelyn
Stowell, Christopher

Source

Robert J.McLeod Photography Collection

Rights

Copyrighted. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owner. In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Type

Still Image

Collection Items

Madeleine Bouchard and Attila Ficzere in Smuin's Harp Concerto, circa 1970s-1980s
Madeleine Bouchard and Attila Ficzere in Michael Smuin's Harp Concerto, circa 1970s-1980s

Anita Paciotti in Christensen's Nutcracker, circa 1970s-1980s
Anita Paciotti in the Arabian Coffee scene in a performance of Lew Christensen's Nutcracker, circa 1970s-1980s

Laurie Cowden and Dennis Marshall in Robert Gladstein's Stravinsky Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra, circa 1970s-1980s
Laurie Cowden and Dennis Marshall in a performance of Robert Gladstein's Stravinsky Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra, circa 1970s-1980s.

Jerome Weiss in Christensen's Il Distratto, undated
Jerome Weiss in Christensen's Il Distratto, undated

Roberta Pfeil and Jerome Weiss in Christensen's Il Distratto, undated
Roberta Pfeil and Jerome Weiss in a performance of Lew Christensen's Il Distratto, undated

San Francisco Ballet dancers, circa 1980s-1990s
San Francisco Ballet dancers in performance, circa 1980s-1990s

San Francisco Ballet dancers, circa 1980s-1990s
San Francisco Ballet dancers in performance, circa 1980s-1990s

San Francisco Ballet dancers, circa 1980s-1990s
San Francisco Ballet dancers in performance, circa 1980s-1990s

San Francisco Ballet in performance, circa 1980s-1990s
Laurie Cowden, Lynda Meyer, Tomm Ruud, and Vane Vest in possibly Michael Smuin's Mozart's Mass in C Minor (this is unconfirmed).

San Francisco Ballet in de Ribère's Harvest Moon, circa 1990
San Francisco Ballet in a performance of Lisa de Ribère's Harvest Moon, circa 1990
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