Helmut Newton (1920-2004) was one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century, known for redefining the way women were portrayed in the fashion industry.
Born in 1920 in Berlin, Newton’s Jewish background forced him and his family to flee Germany as the Nazis ascended to power. The artist settled in Australia in the 1940s, where he later set up a studio and photographed models for several well-know magazines, including Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Playboy and Elle.
However it wasn't until the 1970's that Newton established his signature aesthetic and modus operandi; a willingness to depict unflinching sexuality and a highly-erotic version of female confidence. Newton enabled fashion photography to depict a more human and carnal version of the typically staid and stylized models. Newton was also credited with helping fashion photography leave the studio and absorb/document the vitality of the street...and the bedroom.
"Young Woman and Bismarck Monument, Berlin" was taken in the summer of 1979, after Newton was sent to Berlin by German Vogue. June, his wife, fellow photographer and essential collaborator, came up with the idea of revisiting spots Newton cherished during in his youth. Remarkably most of the sites, despite the epic destruction of the city during the war, were relatively intact including the Bismarck monument. These images, and "Bismark Monument" is a paradigm are fascinating for their unlikely combination of nostalgia and sexuality.
Like the best of Newton's work, this image has allusions to Film Noir, BDSM and of course the Femme Fatale. The suite of images that German Vogue published are some of the most iconic and celebrated images from Helmut Newton's career.
Today, Newton's works can be found in the permanent collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the National Library of Australia in Canberra, the International Center of Photography in New York and the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin, which was established in 2003.
Note: In April 2019, a new auction record was achieved for Newton's work. Sie kommen, Paris was sold at $1.8M.
Addition images available upon request.
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"Young Woman and Bismark Monument, Berlin" 1979
Berlin, 1981
Silver gelatin print
Signed, titled and numbered in pencil
Copyright credit reproduction limitation stamps on verso
Edition of 10
22.5”H 15”W (work)
34"H 26"W (frame)
Very good condition
Literature:
German Vogue, November 1979, ill. p.135.
Newton, World without men, Quartet, 1984, ill. p.64.
Newton, Pages from the Glossies: Facsimilies 1956-1998, Scalo, 1999, ill. p. 399.
Helmut Newton: Work, Taschen, 2000, ill. p. 121.
