Neal Treadwell

Born June 1964 in Stamford, a small farming community in west Texas, Neal grew up in the cattle industry working for the family business, Bowie Livestock Commission Co. He also participated, very briefly, in the rodeo circuit as a bull rider. After graduating from High School, Neal attended Midwestern State University working toward an Art Degree. After his university years he worked in the “C” industries: Cattle, Clothing, and Cosmetics. Ultimately, though, he left his cowboy boots behind and moved into the retail world of clothing working for a prestigious couture clothing store, “David Murray’s”, as a floor manager and assistant buyer in Wichita Falls, TX. Seeking a broader horizon, Neal moved to Dallas where he was introduced to the world of cosmetics. He has now worked in the cosmetics industry for over 30 years with brands such as Bobbi Brown, Nars, Bare Minerals, and Artis. Neal met his husband, Hugh Nini, in March of 1992. Though Hugh and Neal consider themselves to have been married for 28 years, they took the earliest available opportunity to legally establish their union in 2006 when the state of Massachusetts became the first state in the US to pass marriage equality. In the late 1990’s Neal & Hugh started collecting photographs purely by accident. The first photograph came from an antique store in Dallas. The photograph was of two men in a loving embrace mixed within random photos of a Dallas neighborhood from the 1920s. Our collection of over 2800 vintage photos of romantic couples spanning the 100 years between the 1850s and 1950s is the basis for our book. LOVING: A Photographic History shines a new light on the most written about, dramatized, or filmed emotions – love. The pages of our book portray love, but also courage – the courage that it took to memorialize that unmistakable look that occurs between two people in love. LOVING: A Photographic History celebrates a loving past – a past that points towards the future. It’s message is for everyone. It’s universal. Photo of Neal by Bill Westmoreland