THE ARTISTS
Helmut Newton
Helmut arrived in Australia 1940 and served for five years in the Australian army, enabling him to become an Australian citizen. In 1946, Newton set up a studio in fashionable Flinders Lane in Melbourne and worked on fashion, theatre and industrial photography in the affluent postwar years.
From his studio, Newton would walk down Flinders Lane, the hub of the rag trade and to showoff his work “hoping for a break as a fashion photographer.” While Australia didn’t necessarily offer international exposure, he did acquire an Aussie muse—his wife June Newton (née Browne). Browne, the Victorian theatre actress answered an ad for some modelling work at his studio in 1947.
In 1948, he married June Browne, who performed under the stage name June Brunell. Later she became a successful photographer under the pseudonym Alice Springs. In the late ‘50s, Newton moved back to Europe in hopes of greener pastures and bright lights.
Photo courtesy of Ron Galella
Photo courtesy of State Library Victoria
Ballerina putting on shoes (ca. 1952–ca. 1958)
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Black and White photography
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Helmut Newton was a fashion photographer who revolutionised fashion photography by his trend-setting body of work.
He built up a reputation for himself and got his big break by landing a job with the ‘French Vogue’, where he accomplished his best work and gained international fame and recognition, as well as notoriety. His style was characterized by bold, provocative, and visually arresting portrayals of women shot aesthetically, with impeccable technical details.
A visionary, Newton was ahead of his times and his work receives more appreciation today than it did in his lifetime.
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Lobby
Photo courtesy of State Library Victoria
Two Female Tivoli Theatre Performers
(ca. 1953–1957)
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Black and White photography
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Helmut Newton was a fashion photographer who revolutionised fashion photography by his trend-setting body of work.
He built up a reputation for himself and got his big break by landing a job with the ‘French Vogue’, where he accomplished his best work and gained international fame and recognition, as well as notoriety. His style was characterized by bold, provocative, and visually arresting portrayals of women shot aesthetically, with impeccable technical details.
A visionary, Newton was ahead of his times and his work receives more appreciation today than it did in his lifetime.
-
Lobby
Photo courtesy of State Library Victoria
Portrait of Joan Goss (1953?)
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Black and White photography
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Helmut Newton was a fashion photographer who revolutionised fashion photography by his trend-setting body of work.
He built up a reputation for himself and got his big break by landing a job with the ‘French Vogue’, where he accomplished his best work and gained international fame and recognition, as well as notoriety. His style was characterized by bold, provocative, and visually arresting portrayals of women shot aesthetically, with impeccable technical details.
A visionary, Newton was ahead of his times and his work receives more appreciation today than it did in his lifetime.
-
Lobby
Photo courtesy of State Library Victoria
Portrait of Joan Goss (1953?)
-
Black and White photography
-
Helmut Newton was a fashion photographer who revolutionised fashion photography by his trend-setting body of work.
He built up a reputation for himself and got his big break by landing a job with the ‘French Vogue’, where he accomplished his best work and gained international fame and recognition, as well as notoriety. His style was characterized by bold, provocative, and visually arresting portrayals of women shot aesthetically, with impeccable technical details.
A visionary, Newton was ahead of his times and his work receives more appreciation today than it did in his lifetime.
-
Lobby