Helmut Newton Legacy

The visionary Helmut Newton’s photography, virtually unparalleled in scope and spanning more than five decades, reached millions of people through his publication in magazines such as Vogue and Elle. His work transcended genres and brought elegance, style and voyeurism to fashion, portrait and glamour photography through an oeuvre that remains as inimitable as it is unparalleled. Thanks to his mastery of fashion photography from the beginning of his career, Newton always went beyond conventional practice, blurring the boundary between reality and illusion. Newton’s neat aesthetic permeates all areas of his work, in particular fashion photography, portraiture and the nude. Women were central to his work, and his models included Catherine Deneuve, Liz Taylor and Charlotte Rampling. Beyond traditional narrative approaches, Newton’s fashion photography is imbued with a luxurious elegance and a subtle atmosphere of seduction, as well as cultural references and a surprising sense of humour.

During the 1990s, Newton worked for the German, American, Italian, French, French and Russian editions of Vogue, mostly in and around Monte Carlo, where he lived from 1981. He transformed unusual spaces such as his own garage into austere or minimalist theatrical settings, and portrayed the eccentric lives of the beautiful and wealthy, charged with eroticism and elegance, in unconventional settings. He both used and questioned visual clichés ironically or mockingly, but always with empathy.

Helmut Newton. Legacy, which accompanies an international touring exhibition of Newton’s work, brings together highlights from one of the most published bodies of work in the history of photography and includes numerous rediscovered images. A prolific image-maker and true visionary, this book pays tribute to Newton’s lasting and enduring influence on modern photography and visual art.

Size: 240 x 340 mm