

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, lesbianism and fetishism. His images started gracing the pages of the best fashion magazines in Europe before Newton crossed the Atlantic in the early 70’s, where he would ultimately be dubbed the ‘King of Kink’ by Time Magazine.

Though he opened a small photo studio in Melbourne, it wasn’t until his move to Paris in the 60’s that his career as a fashion photographer truly took off. His training was brought to a halt when he fled Nazi Germany, arriving in Australia in 1940. Born into a Jewish family in Berlin in 1920, he started his apprenticeship at the age of sixteen under renowned German fashion photographer ‘Yva’. However, in January of 2004, he was involved in a fatal auto accident that took his life.Helmut Newton is regarded as one the great masters of late twentieth century photography. Newton suffered a heart attack in 1970 and this slowed his output of work down tremendously, but he made a surprising recovery and continued to be a prolific photographer for the next 30 years. He did gain quite a bit of acclaim for his new work. His newer artwork was considered highly erotic and controversial, often centering on fetish-oriented themes. In Paris, he created photo layouts and art for a number of highly regarded magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar. In 1961, Newton traveled to Paris, a city many artists would call their home. So impressed were the editors of Vogue with his work that Newton landed a job with the London office of the magazine. A result of this would be a commission to perform fashion shoots for an Australian wing of Vogue magazine.

The exhibition helped boost Newton’s profile immensely and he became a very highly regarded photo artist. This exhibition was quite innovative and offered a glimpse of New Objectivity art, a movement designed to capture the culture and life of Wiemar Germany. In 1953, he teamed with a colleague and fellow immigrant named Wolfgang Sievers to present an exhibition entitled New Visions in Photography. Helmut Newton was able to meet this demand with his interesting photo art. In the years after World War II, there was a boom in affluence so many had the discretionary funds to purchase artwork. The primary focus of his work was on fashion and theatre photography.
HELMUT NEWTON VOGUE DRIVER
After having worked as a truck driver for some time, he opened up his own photography studio in Melbourne. Reentering the World of Photographyīy 1946, Newton had changed his name, become a British subject, completed military service and married a popular actress.
HELMUT NEWTON VOGUE MANUAL
His arrival was not a positive one since he was interned by British authorities and forced into manual labor.

In Singapore, British officials relocated Newton to Australia and this became his home for many years. The family was even taken to a concentration camp for some time.Įventually, they were released and fled to South America and then to Singapore. His father owned a button factory that was, essentially, confiscated by the state. When the Nazis took power in Germany, Newton and his family were persecuted for being Jewish. Newton became enthralled with photography and opted to study it formally with the famous photographer, Elsie Neulander Simon, at the age of 16. As a young man, he attended the Heinrich-von-Treitschke-Realgymnasium, but his real education in life came at the age of 11 when he bought his first camera. His birth name was Helmut Neustädter and he was born in Berlin, Germany, although he later immigrated to Australia. Helmut Newton was born on October 31, 1920. Although he was known for creating a wide array of photo art, his erotic, black-and-white photos would become stylistic mainstays in magazines such Vogue and others. Helmut Newton was a very influential fashion photographer during the mid and latter part of the 20th century.
