Helmut Newton

Helmut Newton was one of the most distinctive photographers of the 20th century, bringing fetishism and eroticism into the visual mainstream. 

Born into a Jewish family in Berlin in 1920, he developed an early fascination with photography. He began his first apprenticeship at the age of sixteen under renowned German fashion photographer ‘Yva’, from whom he developed an aesthetic which moved away from submissive, traditional depictions of women. Rather, Newton embraced images with power and complete self-possession, qualities that would saturate his photography for the rest of his career. 

After fleeing Germany in 1938, Newton left for Singapore and then eventually settled in Australia. However, Newton‘s move to Paris in the 1960s saw his career as a fashion photographer truly take off as his images started to grace the pages of best fashion magazines in Europe and North America. Newton’s distinct compositions and unapologetic boldness raised him in the esteem of Art Historians and collectors to the height of the previous generation’s Richard Avedon and Irving Penn – completing what some would consider ‘The Holy Trinity’ of photographers. 

During his 25-year collaboration with Paris Vogue, Newton cemented his reputation and style. Whilst his provocative black-and-white images enthralled some women and infuriated others, Newton’s work sought to challenge society’s perception of female desire and sexuality through voyeurism, and fetishism. With the encouragement of his wife and lifetime collaborator June, he combined the female nude with decadence and frivolity to highlight sex as a symbol of strength and power.

Throughout his career Newton worked with leading magazines such as Vogue, Elle, Marie-Claire, and Playboy. His work is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, and the International Center of Photography in New York.