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Helmut Newton – Berlin, Berlin

Book cover – “Helmut Newton – Berlin, Berlin”

Interior view – “Helmut Newton – Berlin, Berlin”

Interior view – “Helmut Newton – Berlin, Berlin”

Interior view – “Helmut Newton – Berlin, Berlin”

Interior view – “Helmut Newton – Berlin, Berlin”

Interior view – “Helmut Newton – Berlin, Berlin”

Interior view – “Helmut Newton – Berlin, Berlin”

Interior view – “Helmut Newton – Berlin, Berlin”

Interior view – “Helmut Newton – Berlin, Berlin”

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Helmut Newton’s Berlin attitude to life

Helmut Newton’s work is closely linked to the vibrant life of Berlin, which characterised him from an early age. Born there in 1920, he began his photographic career in the 1930s with the legendary photographer Yva, where he specialised in fashion, portrait and nude photography. His photographs capture the urban flair of Berlin and cover a wide range of subjects – from trendy clubs and restaurants to the city’s film scene. Berlin’s vibrant atmosphere laid the foundation for Newton’s unmistakable visual language, which he later refined, particularly in his famous fashion photographs. Even when he had to flee from the National Socialists as a Jew in 1938, Berlin remained a constant presence in his artistic work.

Life between flight and return

After his escape, Newton, whose career gained momentum in Paris in the 1960s, regularly returned to his home city. For magazines such as Constanze, Adam, Vogue and ZEITmagazin, he created important photo series documenting the Berlin zeitgeist. In particular, the portfolio “Berlin, Berlin!”, commissioned by German Vogue in 1979, captures the fashionable elegance of the 1970s and brings Newton’s memories of his youthful years in the city to life. The photographs not only show Berlin as a backdrop, but also make the city a central component of his work. His photographs from this period reflect the traces of history and the changes between division and reunification.

An image archive of the Berlin Society

Newton documented Berlin life for decades. His work, a mixture of fashion, portrait and social photography, reflects the multi-faceted city. From night owls in clubs and nudes in old Berlin boarding houses to film scenes with personalities such as Hanna Schygulla, Wim Wenders, John Malkovich and David Bowie at the Berlin Wall – Newton’s pictures show a Berlin full of contrasts and combine history and modernity. The return to his youthful motifs characterised many iconic works and made him one of the most influential photographers of his time.

Newton and his legacy in Berlin

In October 2003, a few months before his death, Helmut Newton established the Helmut Newton Foundation and transferred large parts of his archive to the former Landwehrkasino near Zoologischer Garten station – the station from which he had to flee Berlin in 1938. This foundation and the current publication have come full circle: the 20th anniversary exhibition not only shows his most famous Berlin images, but also previously unpublished photographs from the 1930s to the 2000s. This visual legacy preserves Newton’s deep connection to Berlin and reflects the spirit of the city that was immortalised in his work.

Dates

The following exhibitions and presentations are related to the book “Helmut Newton-Berlin, Berlin”.

• „Exhibition „Helmut Newton: Berlin, Berlin“
  Helmut Newton Foundation, Berlin, Germany
  07. Juni 2024 – 16. Februar 2025
• „Exhibition „Alice Springs: Retrospektive“
  Museum Schloss Moyland, Bedburg, Germany
  15. September 2024 – 02. Februar 2025
• „Book presentation „Helmut Newton. Berlin, Berlin“
  TASCHEN Store, Berlin, Germany
  28 November 2024, 18:00 – 19:00 hours

Data

Further information

Further information on the book “Helmut Newton – Berlin, Berlin” (advert) can be found on the Taschen Verlag website.

Compliance

The book was kindly made available to us by the publisher. The presentation and rating of HYPERMADE remains independent of this and is based solely on the content of the book.