Pedestrian killed on Alexandria street was renowned artist

The man hit and killed on a busy Alexandria, Virginia, street Sunday morning was a renowned artist.

Police tell WTOP that 89-year-old Alfredo Da Silva, an Alexandria resident, was pronounced dead after the collision, which occurred around 8 a.m. Sunday on Duke Street near Cameron Station Boulevard — not far from the Charles E. Beatley Jr. Central Library.

The driver of the vehicle stayed at the scene.

Da Silva, a native of Bolivia, won several prizes throughout his career, and was the recipient of three grants, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1963. He worked with a variety of media, including oils, photography and pencils, and his work has appeared in dozens of group exhibitions.

“The creation of my work is the result of a harmonious experience, intuitive and mental, that becomes crystallized on the canvas, sometimes taking organic forms, and other times the amorphousness of cosmic space,” he explained on his website.

“… My art is a human adventure full of both personal and universal experiences in which we try to find ourselves again.”

An investigation into the fatality continues. Police ask anyone with information to call 703-405-2787.

WTOP’s Jack Pointer contributed to this report.

Colleen Kelleher

Colleen Kelleher is an award-winning journalist who has been with WTOP since 1996. Kelleher joined WTOP as the afternoon radio writer and night and weekend editor and made the move to WTOP.com in 2001. Now she works early mornings as the site's Senior Digital Editor.

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