Helmut Newton

www.myspaceeditor.itHelmut Newton, born Helmut Neustädter (October 31, 1920, Berlin, Germany – January 23, 2004, West Hollywood, California, USA) was a German-Australian fashion photographer noted for his nude studies of women.Born to a German-Jewish button-factory owner and an American mother, Newton attended the Heinrich-von-Treitschke-Realgymnasium and the American School in Berlin. Interested in photography from a young age, he worked for the German photographer Yva (Else Neulander Simon). In 1938 Newton left Germany to escape persecution and worked briefly in Singapore as a photographer for the Straits Times before settling in Melbourne, Australia. Once he arrived in Australia he was first interned, along with many other "enemy aliens", before serving with the Australian Army during World War II as a truck driver. In 1946, Newton set up a studio in Flinders Lane and worked primarily on fashion photography in the affluent post-war years. In 1948 Newton married actress June Browne, who later became a successful photographer under the ironic pseudonym 'Alice Springs' (after the central Australian town). He also assumed Australian nationality. He went into partnership with fellow photographer Henry Talbot in 1956, and his association with the studio continued even after 1959 when he left Australia for London. The studio was renamed 'Helmut Newton and Henry Talbot'.Newton settled in Paris in 1961 and began extensive work as a fashion photographer. His works appeared in magazines including, most significantly, French Vogue. He established a particular style marked by erotic, stylised scenes, often with sado-masochistic and fetishistic subtexts. A heart attack in 1970 slowed his output somewhat but he extended his work and his notoriety/fame greatly increased, notably with his 1980 "Big Nudes" series which marked the pinnacle of his erotic-urban style, underpinned with excellent technical skills. He also worked in portraiture and more fantastical studies.Newton was extremely fond of his hometown of Berlin, and in October 2003 he donated an extensive photo collection to the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. It is currently on display at the Museum of Photography near the Berlin-Zoo railway station.In his later life, Newton lived in Monte Carlo and Los Angeles. He was killed when his car hit a wall in the driveway of the famous Chateau Marmont, the hotel on Sunset Boulevard which had for several years served as his residence in Southern California. It has been speculated that Newton suffered a heart attack in the moments before the collision. [citation needed] His ashes are buried next to Marlene Dietrich at the Städtischen Friedhof III in Berlin.Nato a Berlino, in Germania, figlio di un allevatore ebreo e di madre americana. Frequenta il Werner von Trotschke Gymnasium e la Scuola Americana a Berlino. Interessato alla fotografia fin da piccolo, lavora con il fotografo tedesco Else Simon, conosciuto come Yva. Lascia la Germania nel 1938 e si trasferisce brevemente a Singapore, lavorando come fotografo per il Straits Times. Prende servizio nell'esercito australiano durante la Seconda Guerra Mondiale, dal 1940 al 1945.Nel 1948 sposa l'attrice australiana June Browne. Dopo la guerra lavora come fotografo freelance producendo scatti di moda e lavorando con riviste come Playboy. Dalla fine degli anni cinquanta in poi si concentra sulla fotografia di moda.Si stabilisce a Parigi nel 1961 e intraprende una carriera come fotografo di moda professionista. I suoi scatti appaiono su varie riviste tra cui il magazine francese Vogue. Il suo particolare stile è caratterizzato dall'erotismo patinato, a volte con tratti sado-masochistici e feticistici. Un attacco di cuore nel 1970 rallenta la sua produzione ma aumenta la sua fama, in particolare con la serie "Big Nudes" del 1980 che segna la vetta del suo stile erotico-urbano, sostenuto con un'eccellente tecnica fotografica. Crea inoltre molti ritratti e altri studi fotografici.Nell'ottobre 2003 dona una collezione di foto alla fondazione Preußischer Kulturbesitz a Berlino. È attualmente esposta al Museo della Fotografia a fianco della stazione del treno di Berlino di Tiergarten.In seguito vive a Monte Carlo e Los Angeles. Muore in un incidente stradale a Hollywood quando la sua macchina si schianta in un muro del famoso Chateau Marmont, l'hotel sul Sunset Boulevard che era stata per anni la sua residenza quando abitava nella California del Sud. Le sue spoglie sono state poste a Berlino