Helmut Newton (1920–2004)

Helmut Newton met his wife, June, in Melbourne, Australia, in 1947 -- when he was becoming a fashion photographer and she was an actress. In 1970 June (who changed her artist's name to Alice Springs) started taking pictures as well. She focused on portraiture, while he continued to shock the photography and fashion establishment by melding haute couture with eroticism. Us and Them documents the revealing pictures they took of each other, as well as both self-portraits and celebrities the two of them photographed. The book gives us a glance into a very intimate, warm relationship between two photographers, and between wife and husband. Whether in Paris at their apartment at Rue Aubriot or in the hotel Chateau Marmont, Hollywood, their most intimate portraits come to life. All of these images are testimony to a vibrant and loving, private and professional relationship of fifty years. After the book Pages of the Glossies, which revealed the depth of Newton's work as a fashion photographer, this volume contains, for the first time, mostly unpublished images of the deeply emotional and intense relationship of two well-known artists.… (more)

After reading this autobiography I understand the context of Newton's photographic aesthetic. His focus on sex and scandal was driven by his personality, which as a young man with a very European viewpoint was preoccupied with and very open about sexual freedoms.

My initial interest in reading about Newton's life was driven by the fact that he is a photographer, but I found myself more interested in the rest of his life (which is astounding in it's own right). His escapades involving women were laughable and entertaining and balanced out the fear and uncertainty that was present due to hsis circumstances as a German Jew during WWII and having to uproot his life again and again. Overall I was captivated and impressed by his drive to success and his willingness to take risks to survive and thrive.… (more)