Albert Arthur Neiman

Albert Arthur Neiman, aged 78, died on April 28, 2020, in Oakland California. A Bay Area art dealer of fine posters; prints; collectibles; and works of art on paper for over 50 years, Albert specialized in the art of the San Francisco counterculture. He had the foresight to recognize early on that the poster artists of the 60’s were making historically significant contributions to the American art scene. Albert moved with his family from Oakland to Los Angeles when he was 7. He graduated from Hamilton High School in 1959 and returned to San Francisco with his stamp and poster collections in the early 60’s where he opened New Reflections, a poster store on Haight at Ashbury. He became involved in activities of social change, including sitting-in for civil rights at the Sheraton-Palace Hotel in 1964. He also put on weekly experimental films at the Straight Theater and became a vital member of a revolution that would eventually lead to the Summer of Love. Albert never abandoned the values of the movement he helped define.

In 1970, Albert became one of the original members of Project One, a unique urban collective located in an old candy factory South of Market. Here he established Image Works, a motion picture lab that supported the independent and student film community. During this time, he helped document the Native American occupation of Alcatraz.

After leaving Project One, Albert created Visual Transformation, which became one of the most varied collections of poster art in the Bay Area. To support his new business, he drove a cab for Veteran’s Cab Company, and became a member of the Sign Display

Workers Local 510 where he made lifelong friends with his union brothers and sisters.

Albert knew how to make things happen, especially if they involved the creative process. In the 90’s he helped initiate a concert series at Maritime Hall under the name of Straight Theater Presents, recreating the ambiance that his friend Chet Helms and the Family Dog, had created 30 years earlier. In later years he set up a weekly film series at Berkeley’s Art House, worked with Regent Press to publish an art portfolio of Oracle graphics, and promoted the importance of Coit Tower muralist and WPA artist Bernard Zakheim. Most recently, Albert designed a poster series promoting the Green New Deal. He remained passionate about poster art and was driven to lend his firsthand experience and encyclopedic knowledge of 60’s posters to anyone who shared his appreciation for it.

Albert’s most notable strength was his warm, outgoing, and generous spirit. Albert was a big man with a big voice and big presence, who was never shy to give you his opinion. He was devoted to his family and to his many friends. He was a true egalitarian, saw great value in people, and did his best to have a positive impact on those marginalized by our society. Albert was preceded in death by his father (Robert Neiman), and is survived by his mother Berte Neiman, and his sister Arlene Brownell (Tom BacheWiig). Albert will be missed by many.