Helmut Newton

PANTHEON PHOTO LIBRARY

HELMUT NEWTON
Helmut Newton
Introduction by Karl Lagerfeld
With comments by Helmut Newton

PANTHEON BOOKS, NEW YORK

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA PHOTOGRAPHIE, PARIS

cy
 First American Edition
Copyright © 1987 by Centre National de la Photographie, Paris

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American

Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Pantheon.
Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and
simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited,
Toronto. Originally published in France as Helmut Newton by
Centre National de la Photographie. Copyright © 1986 by
Centre National de la Photographie, Paris.

Cover: Pool at a suburban house. Melbourne, 1973.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Newton, Helmut, 1920-

Helmut Newton.

(The Pantheon photo library)

Translated from the French.

Onginally published: Paris: Centre National de la

Photographie, © 1986.

1. Photography of the nude. 2. Photography—Portraits.

8. Fashion photography. 4. Newton. Helmut, 1920-
I Centre National de la Photographie (France) IL Title.
Ill. Series.
TR675.N457 1987 779'.2'0924 87-43021
ISBN 0-394-75514-6

Manufactured in Italy
 “NORDFLEISCH”

Some years ago, Helmut Newton happened to be in

Hamburg. One evening, while taking a walk along the docks,
his eye was caught by the sign over a meat warehouse that
said “Nordfleisch”—- meat from the north. Thatseemed to him to
sum up his work. And that's why I chose it as the title for this
introduction.
Newton's preference for “pale” skin is so strong that when
he wants — or has — to photograph nudes in color, he mixesina
blue light with the tungsten lighting to eradicate the warm
tones that he doesn't like. He would like to take color shots
accidentally; he even pretends that he doesn't know he has
color film in his camera.
He says he likes cold women - another reason for the
above title. But the word is not to be construed
_as intimating
cold indifference. He simply wants the presence of his models
to be somewhat abstracted from the circumstances or the sur-
roundings. For him, “cold” is the opposite of “romantic” and
“sentimental” — two adjectives that are foreign to him, even
thoroughly detestable. In writing about Newton and his work,
you have to forget those two words. He clearly doesn't care for
long descriptions and complicated analyses; he says, “Those
who write about photography write only for those who write
about photography,’
Ihave read some extravagant and farfetched articles on
his work, phrased in terms that were in vogue during art's “lyric
abstraction” period. Yet nothing is less abstract than Newton's
women. If he had to think about all the subtle motivations that
he is credited for in his work, he would be paralyzed and
couldn't do anything. Hence his indifference to critics and
what they say. “The only thing I care about,” he says, “is that
they get my name right” He has only one answer for those who
are scandalized by his photos: “You've gotto be able tolive up
to something, even a bad reputation.”
In his photos there is no mockery, no disdain. He does not
try tomake women lookridiculous. He has his own very partic-
ular way of idealizing a reality which is not always ideal.
This, however, is the source of his inspiration. (One day,
Matisse asked Maillol why all his sculptured figures had thick
masses of hair. “Because Madame Maillol does,” replied the
sculptor.) He takes female destiny very seriously. For him,
neither sex is the weaker. Yet feminists despise him. Young,
socially militant photographers accuse him of being the
lackey of the consumer society. But he is only describing what
he knows and what he sees.
Helmut Newton admits that he feels very comfortable in
Paris, New York, Berlin, Los Angeles, the French Riviera - all
the places the jet set prefers. What he likes about Los Angeles
is the city of Los Angeles. When he is there, if he is supposed to
photograph a woman ina car, the car has to be an American
one, a Cadillac. In Berlin, it’s a Mercedes. In Paris, a Citroén.
He himself arrived in Paris in 1956 at the wheel of a white
Porsche with red leather seats.
For me, his life is like a triptych. In the first panel, there is
Berlin, his childhood, his spiritual home. Next, his Australian
period, which is mysterious and unknown. And, lastly, the
period that started 25 years ago when he drove into Paris in
his Porsche. Paris has become his home port, although he lives
in the south of France and spends a lot of time travelling. Paris
is one of those rare cities that people easily adopt even if they
haven't grown up there. He shares the sentiment of the Ger-
man writer Tucholsky, who spoke of the “infinite happiness of
being able to live in Paris.” Today, he would amend that state-
ment to include Monte Carlo.
Ican easily picture the boy who lived in Berlin during the
thirties. That's one of the reasons I enjoy our conversations so
much. They sometimes go on for hours. He’s a wonderful story-
teller. From 1936 to 1938 he worked in Berlin as an apprentice
to Yva, a famous photographer in those days, whose portraits
and fashion photos are known to very few. But forme, Newton
is first of all the schoolboy of the Blue Angel blowing on the
feathered skirt pasted on the picture postcard of Lola Lola
(Marlene Dietrich).
It's ashame he was too young at the time to photograph
Marlene -itwould have been marvellous. Actually, he almost
did, in 1972. Francine Crescent, then editor-in-chief of French
Vogue, had asked me to introduce him to Miss Dietrich so that
he could shoot a few pictures of her. This happened shortly
after he’d suffered a mild heart attack in New York. In the
elevator taking us up to Marlene’s apartment on Avenue
Montaigne, he was as excited as a kid and was telling me
how important she’d been in his erotic daydreams when he
was younger. The introductions went well. Then we started
talking aboutillness and medicine - two of Marlene’s favorite
subjects. She was wearing a tight-fitting jersey top and a
leather wraparound skirt. All of asudden, she wanted to have
my opinion as a designer. She jumped up and undid the
snaps on her skirt. I'll never forget Helmut's surprise at this
unexpected sirip. He blurted out, “The legs are still wonderful!”
This really irritated Marlene, and so there were no photos.
Too bad.
Although Newton built his reputation as a fashion pho-
tographer, his photos have survived the styles they illustrated.
He was smart enough to avoid the cliché of the fashion pho-
tographer of the sixties. With time, his own image, like
his photos, has become more audacious, while the enfants
terribles from those days have melded into an amorphous,
anonymous mass. Because he is quickly bored, he never
repeats himself; he’s always looking for something new. Once
they reach a certain level, a lot of photographers produce the
same picture over and over again, because they think their
style has peaked and that that's what the public wants. On
the other hand, you don't have to be an expert to recognize a
photo by Newton at first glance, even though he never takes
the same picture twice. His “periods” are shorter and shorter.
That's why he'll always stay with the fashion world — he likes
change too much. For him, art for art's sake is a sterile concept.
Francine Crescent risked her job at Vogue by printing his
photos at a time when no other fashion magazine dared.
It's true that ten years ago, readers were less blasé and more
easily shocked than they are today.
For Newton, fashion is a familiar world where he has
found his natural expression. He loves everything that is artifi-
cial. “Everything that is beautiful is fake,” he says. “The most
beautiful lawn is plastic.” These two mottioes are from his notes.
Because he can’t draw, he jots down everything he wants to
include in his new photos. He uses a telegraphic style that no
one else can decipher, scribbling ideas on pages among the
telephone numbers, hotel addresses, dates, and appoint-
ments he’s already noted. These notes are the backbone of his
work discipline. The word “discipline” often dominates his
vocabulary both at work and in his private life. Yet he con-
tends that he loves to be lazy. In fact, his laziness helps him to
recharge the batteries of his imagination and protects him
from a corrosive routine.
 I think that the anti-Newtons are fewer and farther be-
tween nowadays. To denounce his photos as vulgar or porno-
graphic borders on the ridiculous. The same thing was said
about the Impressionists and later about the Expressionists.
The works of Manet, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, Beckmann,
and Dix, which caused such a furor when exhibited for the first
time, now hang in museums. I'm positive that Helmut Newton
will have a place of honor in a future museum of photogra-
phy. The danger in his photos is that they are insidious — they
insinuate themselves into and leave a lasting imprint on
his detractors’ imaginations. It's a very rare gift.
He often says that he takes pictures so they can be seen
and not just be thrown into a drawer. The concept of art should
not kill the concept of artificiality, because that’s where its
artistic expression comes from. The photos in this book repre-
sent a decisive change in Newton's creativity. In his more
recent work the framing and the setting, which usually are so
important for him, incorporate two new elements: scale (for
his monumental photos) and time (for the most recent). It's
the famous “nevermore” time that passes and never comes
back. It isn't quite Ave atque vale (Hail and farewell), and it's
more subtle than the quote from Shakespeare that he uses as
a caption for the X-ray of a head with a necklace that is on
the first page of one of his books: “Golden lads and girls all
must, as chimney-sweepers, come to dust.”
For him, the symbolism of the duplicate pictures shot at
Brescia is very important. The same place - a Fascist-style
villa by the sea, the same setup, the same woman - clothed in
one shot, nude in the other (but wearing high heels — that, for
Newton, is true nudity). The second photo is almost exactly the
same as the first. Just one thing is different: the light. The sun-
light is no longer the same. The moment has moved on forever.
“Death preys on youth,” said Edith Sitwell in one of her
songs ofthe lvory Coast. Inacertain way, lsee his photos as an
unconscious evocation of Wedekind’s Lulu. I know he hates
such anecdotal comparisons; his photos are not narratives
(like those frivolous Italian romantic picture stories called
fumetti). But these twinned photos are intensely dramatic.
Newton claims that he is not telling a story. What he’s inter-
ested in is the present moment. To show this ephemeral and
unique aspect, he takes the same photo twice: the power and
the meaning of the first is all the more compelling because
the second take is different despite every effort to faithfully
reconstruct the first. He had already used the same idea ina
studio series he did for French Vogue. Studio light - unchang-
ing, perfect — transforms models into store-window manne-
quins. The fragility of daylight is missing. Newton doesn't care
much for studio work. In fact, his big photos of nudes ona white
background are like the attempts at sculpture by certain
great painters, like Modigliani, Renoir, and Degas, for whom
models were so important.
Today, painting has run into so many dead ends that it
seems to me that photography is the art form that best
expresses our time. 1 am afraid that, as an art form, painting
will come to a standstill, like opera. The essential has been
created. What we have to do is to keep photography from
becoming “established.” It has to stay alive.
Usually Newton works exclusively with professional
models and hardly ever with men. 1 feel therefore all the more
tlaitered that he has photographed me so often over the past
twelve years. I've experienced the full gamut of emotions, sit-
ting in front of his lens. You almost have the physical sensation
of becoming a Newton. He himself is in a trance. Only his
incredible technique lets him remainin control of the situation,
even ifhe’s mostly unaware ofit. imagine that when he photo-
graphs a nude woman, the atmosphere must be even more
charged and intense.
He orders his victims about in German or English. Rarely
in French, although he has lived in France a lot longer than
anywhere else. Bui French is probably a language that
doesn't suit his universe. You have to have heard him say the
German words arsch and brust in talking about the model's
buttocks and breasts. French suddenly seems too weak, and
you get the impression that the words are describing some-
thing else entirely.
Helmut Newton is still a foreigner, fascinated by the most
mundane events of daily life in France. He loved going to the
Luxembourg Gardens when he lived close by. Details that
only a stranger is apt to notice would catch his attention. He
has picked up a lot of ideas that way, but he would never
dream of photographing things on the spur of the moment. Itis
in recreating visual experience that the most ordinary things
become aesthetic images.
There is never any trace of nostalgia in his photos. No one
is more cosmopolitan than Newton; even his sophistication
has roots. His past (or the idea that he has of it) has left its
imprint on his very personal style. In fact, he lives within him-
self. His soul is his true spiritual home, a home that has nothing
to do with the concept of homeland, but which has a good deal
to do with the idea so neatly expressed in a Berlin song: “ch
trab noch einen Kofferin Berlin’ (I still have a trunk in Berlin).
This memory is the source of a talent that never looks
back in time.
Some people consider his photos of orthopedic equip-
ment provocative. However, it was the neck brace that Erich
von Stroheim wore in La Grande Illusion that gave him the
idea. (Moreover, Erich von Stroheim reminds him of his father.)
Although he was inspired by this actor-director, he never
takes himself to be a director. What he’s interested in is the
image and not the story. Yet, in some of von Stroheim’s films
there are moments, sequences that come back to you, like
Newton photos, but youdon'trecall the action. In Foolish Wives
in particular, there are some very Newton-like scenes, which,
moreover, take place in Monte Carlo, one of Newton's favorite
haunts these days. The highly contrasted black and white
sequence where von Stroheim is seducing the chambermaid
could be by Newton. And I'm not even sure that he ever saw
the movie.
It's sometimes said of certain painters that they are
“a woman's painter.” The same notion can be applied to New-
ton — he is a “woman's photographer.” But the photos that he
takes of them are not necessarily those that people expect to
see. In his own way he has transformed, or at any rate pro-
foundly influenced, the erotic fantasies of our time. And his
influence has spread farther than he thinks, making of him a
sort of sorcerers apprentice who has unleashed a perpetual
flow of contemporary images. The secret of this power rests in
that kind of detachment and distance that you feel women
have. His models are no longer young girls even if often they
are not yet twenty. He shows only adults, free and inde-
pendent beings, women who, without necessarily looking
like Gayle Olinekova or Lisa Lyon, exude self-assurance and
complete determination.
What will the woman of the next century look like?
Perhaps the answer to that can be found in the photos of
Helmut Newton.

Karl Lagerfeld
Translated by Marianne Tinnell Faure
1. Giant and nude photographed during an editorial session, Paris, 1974.
2. Vogue (Great Britain), 1968. London. Pourelle.
3. Portrait of Elsa Peretti, dressed up as a “Bunny” on the terrace of her apartment
in New York, November 1975 (costume by Halston)
BR
1p
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Be

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4, Central Park West, New York, 1975-78.
ees
ty CALLE LALLALILLTEL
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Bx.
9. Queen, 1968. Paris. Jean Muir.
6. Vogue (U.S.A.), 1975. Saint-Tropez. Calvin Klein.
(ij PLO Go
BSROS
7. Vogue (France), 1978. From left to right: Arrabel, Arrabel, Azzaro.
Overleaf: Swimming pool in a house in the suburbs, Melbourne, 1973.
9. Laurie Livingston, Beverly Hills, 1981.
10. Stern, 1980. Cannes. Monica.
ll. Vogue (France), 1981. Cannes. Hat: Jean Barthet.
Coat: Revillon. Swimsuit: Yvan & Marzia.
12. Vogue (U.S.A.), 1975. Miami. Rudi Gernreich.
13. Vogue (France), 1978, Paris. Jean Patou and Guy Laroche.
14. Saint-Tropez, June 1975.
j| ] i
4 Y 4 i |/ 4 i
15. Margot, Beverly Hills, 1981.
Overleaf: Weeping willow I, Weeping willow II, Ramatuelle, 1975-78.
17. Nude in seaweed, Saint-Tropez, 1981.
18. In a garden near Milan, 1975-78.
Following pages: Nastassia Kinski and her director,
James Toback, Hollywood, 1983.
20. Nude descending a staircase, Nice, 1981.
Following page: Parc de Saint-Cloud, Paris, 1974.
22.Berlin nude, 1975-78.
sopespseonsces =
23. At Maxim’s, first floor, Paris, 1975-78.
24. Vogue (France), 1978. Paris. Marc Bohan for Christian Dior.
25. Bergstrom above Paris, 1975-78.
26. Queen, 1966. Paris. Greés.
27. Lisa Lyon at home, Venice, California, 1981.
Overleaf: Mrs. Kiki Kiser on her court and
Mr. Irving Blum II, Los Angeles.
29. Tall nude, I, 1980.
30. Brigitte Ariel in Oscar Wilde’s bedroom. L’Hétel, Paris. 1974.
31 Masked nude with rubber stockings, Ramatuelle, 1981
32. Queen, 1965, Paris.
33. Department store mannequin I, 1975-78.
34. Vogue (France), 1980, Paris. Ungaro and Chanel.
 ff

re

5 Oncen 1065, Landon

36. Jenny Capitan, Pension Dorian, Berlin, 1975-78.
4‘
i
t
’

;
4
37. Princesse de Polignac, Paris, 1979.
 oA
oe

98, Mannequin and model|1975-78.

39. Vogue (France), 1979. Paris. Yves Saint Laurent.
=
LW

3
nreneroneminenenenenntnen
cen sanicn eetereeehererteereer
SAAN
40. Vogue (France), 1981. “The Unclothed and the Clothed”
————

‘
‘
4]. Sylvia in my studio, Paris, 1981. me
42. Portrait of Xavier Moreau and his girlfriend, Paris, 1974.

Overleaf: Vogue (France), 1979.

Paris. Furs: Reby-Tigre Royale. Clothes: Milanka.
i4 ;
ie APS
45. Vogue (France), 1981. Paris. Yves Saint Laurent.
Preceding pages: Vogue (France), 1975. Paris. Yves Saint Laurent.
46. Vogue (France), 1974. Paris. Pierre Cardin.
47. Linea Italiana, 1970. Rome. Debarenizen.
48. Queen, 1966. Venice. Frank Usher.
49. Queen, 1967. London. National Fur Company.
Overleaf: Countess Véra von Lehndorf, Paris, 1984.
 “ pho Ce
ee oe:
@ ee
51. Laura dressed in a fox cape, Avenue George V, Paris, 1974.
ES
52.Self-portrait, — Due Tori, Verne. 1976.
53. Suzy at home, Paris, 1974.
54. Wibeke riding her husband's mechanical bear, Paris, 1975.
55. Suzy vibrating, Paris, 1974.
56. Self-portrait, Hdtel Bijou, Paris, 1973.
57. 16th arrondissement, Paris, 1975-78.
3
See ee eae se iSecseeer
t. _ semetieralihion
ewe RW
58. Two pairs of legs in black stockings, Paris, 1979.
59. Vogue (France), 1971. Paris. Givenchy.
 ra
¢
60. Stern, 1977. Tuscany, Italy. Karl Lagerfeld for Chloé.
61 For Walter Steiger,.1983. Monte Carlo.
 HELMUT NEWTON BY HELMUT NEWTON

1. My Photography

The only thing there is to say about my photos is that they

are never blurred! I've always taken pictures, even when I
was very young. Photography fascinates me and, in addition,
lets me live the way I want to live. I don't consider myself a
photographer of the consumer society, but Iwork ina capital-
istic system. I don’t claim to produce art either. I've always
worked on commission and I'll keep on doing so. With
one slight difference over the last 15 years: I always work for
others, but now I'm free to choose. That way there’s no line
between my personal work and what I sell. Idon't stash my
photos away in drawers. On the contrary —Itry toshow them to
the whole world everywhere. All I can say is that I have full
control over my work. I call it making the system work for
you. The people who use me have more money than I'll ever
see. They are rich — they are industrial leaders, big compa-
nies, successful magazines. 1 don't feel sorry for them. Butl also
work for free sometimes. And it’s just as much fun. I can do
photos for magazines put out by young people who don't
have enough money to pay the people who work for them.
If they're doing something I think is interesting, and if I think
I can help them out, then I do it for nothing.

2. My Training

I do a lot of portraits which, like my nudes, stem from

fashion photography, since I've always been a fashion pho-
tographer. In the beginning, Iwanted to be a big reporter and
travel around the world, butit didn't work out that way. When!
was 18 I was in Singapore and flat broke. The Singapore
Straight Times— it's still being published - offered me ajob as
a reporter. Ihad a Rolleiflex, but every time there was some-
thing to take a picture of, I got there too late. After two weeks
they fired me, and for along time! didn'thave any money. My
inspiration also comes partly from news photos. I really
admire newspaper reporters. In my opinion, news is an excit-
ing field for a photographer. I've studied the work of the pap-
parazzi very closely. For me, their photos are very powertul. I
think that photography has been made too intellectual. Espe-
cially by beginners, or those who study photography but don’t
dare push the button.

3. The Subject

Q: As a photographer, you are an anti-formalist. Yourreaction

to fine arts implies that photography must, first and foremost,
be the uniqueness of a look at a subject and not only at the
form in which the subject is arranged.
A: Absolutely. The subject — that's the big question. That's
what I'm interested in.
Q: How do you set up a shot?
A: It's along process. Something no one knows about is that I
do all of my work in writing first. lalways carry around a little
notebook in which I can jot down the minutest details concern-
ing photos thatI'll take some other time. Ican't draw. SoImake
notes on props, lighting, the component parts of my picture.
Perspiration under the arms, puffed-up lips, a kiss, a man’s
shoulder, a woman’s hand, the inside of the elbow, the inter-
play of muscles, man-woman nude to the waist, a man.

4. The Message

There is no message in my photos. They are quite simple

and don't need any explanation. If by chance they seem a
little complex or if you need a while to understand them, it's
simply because they are full of details and that a lot of things
are happening. But usually they are very simple.

5. Staging a Shot

It's the staging that I'm interested in. Ialso enjoy working
at night. For the same reason: to be seen. I'm fascinated by
that. Every photographer has his obsession, and that's mine.
I'm used to using everything around me. WhenI take a picture
of diamonds, for example - and I like shooting them on a
beach in sunlight — I always have trouble with the insurance
companies. They don't want youto take astep without abody-
guard. When I took these pictures, the hardest part was show-
ing that these men were armed. The model, the diamonds —
they were easy. ButI didn't want the bodyguards to notice that
they were in the shot. Like a lot of photographers, I am also
fascinated by store-window mannequins. I like to lead the
viewer ona wild goose chase. Often the models look like man-
nequins and the mannequins look like humans. The mix-up
amuses me, and I like to play on that ambiguity in my photos.
Another one of my obsessions is swimming pools. WhenI was
a boy, I competed in sports a lot. I love water, it fascinates
me like swimming pools fascinate me, especially the ones in
big cities.
6. A Special World

The world that I photograph is very particular: there are

always, or almost always, the same kind of characters. There
are always women, women that are apparently rich. I photo-
graph the upper class because I'm well acquainted with it.
And whensomeone asks me why Inevershow the otherside of
the coin, I reply thatI don’t really know much about it, but that
there are other photographers who can do a marvellous job. I
prefer to stick with whatI know. IfItook a picture of modelsina
poverty-stricken setting, it would be completely false. People
have said that my photos have nothing at all to do with reality.
That's not true: everything is based on reality.
7. Women

I don't work very much in the studio because! think that a

woman cannot come to life in front of a white background. I
want toshowhowa woman ofacertain milieu lives, the kind of
car she drives, her setting, what kind of menshe sees. It doesn't
matter where they come from — New York, Paris, Nice, Monte
Carlo. Their nationality doesn't matter either. The women of a
certain milieu, no matter where they're from, alllook and dress
alike. lam very impressed when! travel from one continent to
another, from Paris to Beverly Hills; the women can't possibly
resemble each other, but their clothes and makeup are
always the same. It's a sign of the consumer society. You can
buy a Saint Laurent anywhere in the world. Iwanted to show
the rules of acertain society. It's just bringing out into the open
certain types of behavior.
8. Provocation

Q: What does the desire to provoke that so often underlies

your work mean?
A: Llike and look for reactions. I don't like kindness or gentle-
ness. want to provoke, but not by choice of subject, although!
do need certain subjects in order to create new photographic
effects, and especially to find new visual tension that the
choice of these subjects allows me. If 1 drown a woman in
props, or if I pose her like a signpost, if Icontrast nudity with
clothing, if lask for a black bra under a light-colored blouse, I
obtain or I'm looking for new interactions of tension which
seem surprising and then are accepted. The only provocation
that I hate is that of the surrealist image. It has no place inmy
world.

9. Vulgarity

Q: A certain number of works have been published under

your name that are not without some vulgarity. How do you
react to that?
A: I totally believe in these books. I love vulgarity. 1am very
attracted by bad taste — itis a lot more exciting than that sup-
posed good taste which is nothing more than a standardized
way of looking at things. Iam proud of a book like Sleepless
Nights. A little less of Secret Women, which was incredibly suc-
cessful. I don't practice photography for myself, not for art. If
the art world rejects me, allIcansayis, “Good luck tothe world
of art” If look for a real point of view, I'm not going to start by
looking at what art will accept so I can conform to that. That's
why in Sleepless Nights all that sadomasochism still looks
interesting to me today. I always carry chains and padlocks
in my car trunk, not for me but for my photos — by the way,
I never make the knots real tight.

Sections 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are taken from a conference given by Helmut Newton in Austria in 1984.
Sections 3, 8 and 9 are from an interview of Helmut Newton by Bernard Lamarche-Vadel, in Artistes,
no, 7, January-February 1981.
 BIOGRAPHY

1920. Born 31 October in Berlin. 1977-80. Awarded the American

Institute of Graphic Arts prize.
1930-32. Studies at the Heinrich von
Treitschke Realgymanasium in Berlin. 1978-79. Wins the German Art Directors
Club gold medal for the best editorial
1933-36. Attends the American School photograph.
in Berlin.
1981. Moves to Monte Carlo.
1938-40. Apprentice with the fashion
photographer Yva in Berlin.

1938-40. Lives in Singapore.

His photographs are in the following
1940. Moves to Australia, where he collections:
stays for 17 years.
Editions Condé Nast, Paris and New
1940-44. Serves in the Australian army. York
Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris
1948. Marries the actress June F. Browne Musée d’‘Art Moderne de la Ville de
(June Brunell). Paris
Musée Chéret, Nice
1956. Moves to London for a year;
Musée départemental des Vosges,
works for English Vogue.
Epinal
1957. Moves to Paris. Works with Fashion Institute of Technology, New
publications Jardin des modes, Elle, York
Queen, Playboy, Nova, Marie-Claire, Museum of Modem Art, New York
Stern, and various editions of Vogue. George Eastman House, Rochester
Nikon Foto Gallery, Zurich
1975. First individual exhibition at the Photographers’ Gallery, London
Galerie Nikon. Marlborough Gallery, New York
Xavier Moreau, New York
1976. Awarded prize for the best G. Ray Hawkins Gallery, Los Angeles
photograph by the Art Directors Club John Dunnicliff
of Tokyo. Art Directions, Paris
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Publications by Helmut Newton Interviews with Helmut Newton

1976. Femmes Secrétes (Secret “Helmut Newton: I Think the Ideal
Women). Text by Philippe Garner, Nude Is Erotic,” Nude: Theory, edited
Editions Robert Laffont, Paris; by Jain Kelly, New York, 1979.
American edition: Congreve, New York.
English edition: Quartet Books, London. “Helmut Newton, by Yves Aubry,
German edition: Régner und Bernhard, Zoom, no. 84, 198].
Munich.
“Helmut Newton Talks to Maud
1978. Sleepless Nights. Text by Edward Molyneux,’ Facade, Paris, 1981.
Behr, Editions Filipacchi, Paris.
American edition: Congreve, New York. “Entretien avec Helmut Newton,” by
English edition: Quartet Books, London. Bernard Lamarche-Vadel, Artistes,
German edition: Schirmer/Mosel, Paris, no. 7, January-February 1981.
Munich.
“Helmut Newton, by Alberta
1979. Helmut Newton, Special Gnugnoli, Flash Art Milan, no. 125,
Collection: 24 lithographic March 1985.
photographs.
Editions Filipacchi, Paris. Exhibition Catalogues
American edition: Congreve, New York.
German edition: Régner und Bernhard, Portraits, Musée d'Art Modeme de la
Munich (with a preface by Brion Gysin). Ville de Paris, 1984.

1984. A World without Men. Text by Portraits, Foto Foundation Amsterdam,

Helmut Newton. Editions Filipacchi, 1986.
Paris.

1987. Portraits, Schirmer/Mosel, Munich. Films

American edition: Pantheon Books, Helmut Newton. Michael White,
New York. 55 minutes, Thames Television, 1978.
 EXHIBITIONS

Individual Exhibitions 1977. Fashion Photography.

1975. Galerie Nikon, Paris International Museum of Photography,
Canon Photo Gallery, Amsterdam George Eastman House, Rochester
Brooklyn Museum, New York
1976. The Photographers Gallery, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
London Cincinnati Art Institute
Nicolas Wilder Gallery, Los Angeles Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg,
Florida
1978. Marlborough Gallery, New York
1979. Fleeting Gestures:
1979. American Cultural Center, Paris Dance Photographs.
Galerie Canon, Geneva International Center of Photography,
Silver Image Gallery, Seattle New York
The Photographers Gallery, London
1980. G. Ray Hawkins Gallery, Los Venezia 79
Angeles
1979. La Mode.
1981. Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris Galerie Zabriskie, Paris
1982. Studio Marconi, Milan Photography als Kunst 1879-1979.
Gallery Hans Mayer-Denise René, Tiroler Landesmuseum, Innsbruck
Dusseldorf Neue Galerie am Wolfgang Gutrlitt
Marlborough Gallery, New York Museum, Linz
Tanit Gallery, Munich Neue Galerie am Landesmuseum
Thomas Levy Gallery, Hamburg Johanneum, Graz
Asher-Faure Gallery, Los Angeles Museum des 20 Jahrhunderts, Vienna

1984. Musée Chéret, Nice 1980. 20/24 Polaroid.

Palais Fortuny, Venice Galerie Zabriskie, Paris;
Instantanés, Centre Georges Pompidou,
1984-85. Musée d'Art Moderne de la
Paris
Ville de Paris
1981. Aspects de l’art d’aujourd’hui,
1985. Museo dell’'Automobile, Turin
1970-80.
Musée Rath, Geneva
1985-86. Galerie Artis, Monte Carlo
Hans Bellmer, Helmut Newton, Alice
1986. Amsterdam Foto Foundation,
Springs.
Amsterdam
G. Ray Hawkins Gallery, Los Angeles
1986. Palais de l'Europe, Menton
1982. 50 Années de photographies
de Vogue Paris.
Musée Jacquemart-André, Paris
Main Group Exhibitions Photokina, Cologne
1975. Fashion Photography: 1985-86. Shots of Style.
6 Decades. Emily Lowe Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Hofstra University, Hempstead, New
York (travelling exhibition within 1986. La Femme sur la Plage.
United States) Palais de l'Europe, Menton
 PANTHEON PHOTO LIBRARY

American Photographers of the Depression

Eugéne Atget
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Bruce Davidson
Early Color Photography
Robert Frank
André Kertész
Jacques-Henri Lartigue
Duane Michals
Helmut Newton
The Nude
Alexander Rodchenko
W. Eugene Smith
Weegee

The Pantheon Photo Library:

a collection conceived and produced by the
National Center of Photography in Paris
under the direction of Robert Delpire.
 PHOTOGRAPHY

Helmut Newton

Born in Berlin in 1920, Helmut Newton has lived

and worked all over the world and is perhaps
the most internationally famous and controver-
sial photographer today. His photographs of
haute couture and the beau monde are instant-
ly recognizable, having appeared in virtually
every major magazine both here and abroad.
From his early work for “Vogue” to his portraits
of the rich and famous, Newton conveys a
unique vision of a wealthy and glamorous world
that often shocks but never ceases to fascinate.
The Pantheon Photo Library, conceived and print-
ed by the National Center of Photography in
Paris, brings together the best works of classic
and contemporary photographers in affordable
guides produced to the highest standards. The
series was the recipient of the International Cen-
ter of Photography's first annual publication
award for distinguished books on photography.

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ZL PS
— —

PANTHEON BOOKS, NEW YORK

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA PHOTOGRAPHIE, PARIS

§ 795 PRINTED IN ITALY

<y ISBN 0-394-7 5514-6