Otto is a world renowned, highly gifted painter, sculptor, and printmaker. When he was a child, his family moved to New York where he still lives and works. A Brooklynite, Neals first studied commercial art at George Westinghouse Vocational High School. He also studied briefly at the Brooklyn Museum Art School and at other institutions in the borough. In 1951, he took a job with the post office's Art department. He eventually became the head illustrator at the Brooklyn General Post Office, creating illustrations and overseeing projects in Brooklyn, Staten Island and Long Island City. Over decades, Neals emerged as one of the most respected visual artists in our lifetime. As a participant in the Black Arts movement, he co-founded the historic Weusi Artist Collective and NyumbaYa Sanaa Gallery in Harlem. In 1958, he took a lead role in assisting with establishing the Fulton Art Fair in Brooklyn. Neals has worked and exhibited with iconic masters, including Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, Elizabeth Catlett, and Tom Feelings. Neals' work has been exhibited in distinguished institutions in the U.S. and abroad, including the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, the Columbia Museum of Art, the Huntsville Museum of Art and the Ghana National Museum. His work is in the collections of Congressman John Lewis, legendary jazz musician Randy Weston, Harry Belafonte, and Oprah Winfrey. The media has recognized Neals' profound talent: he has been profiled in numerous outlets including The New York Times, EBONY magazine, Black Enterprise.