Beschreibung:

(Contemporary & Post-War Art, 16th April 2020) § HELMUT NEWTON (GERMAN/AUSTRALIAN 1920-2004) SADDLE I, PARIS - 1976 Silver gelatin print, signed, inscribed, titled and dated in pencil verso, with artist's studio stamps, unframed 51cm x 61cm (20in x 24in) Note: Hailed the “King of Kink” by TIMES magazine, the fashion photographer Helmut Newton’s (1920-2004) erotically charged works have shocked and polarised audiences since they first appeared in high-fashion magazines such as Vogue and Elle, forever subverting the genre of fashion photography. Originally born Helmut Neustädter in Berlin, Newton’s passion for photography began at an early age; at sixteen he decided to abandon his studies at the American School in Berlin in order to undergo an apprenticeship with the photographer Elsie Simon (known as Yva). However, Newton’s photography career was halted by increasing anti-Semitism and the rise of the Nazi party. Due to their Jewish heritage, the Neustädters were forced to flee Germany in 1938. Separated from his family, Newton settled in Singapore before moving to Australia in 1940 where, after serving five years in the army, he was able to gain an Australian citizenship and changed his surname to Newton. It was in Australia that his career as a fashion photographer began to flourish. Newton set up a small studio in Melbourne and by the 1950s he was working for Australian Vogue. It was also in Australia that Newton met his wife June Brunell, an actress and fellow photographer who went by the pseudonym “Alice Springs”. Together they moved to Europe where Newton went on to produce his most acclaimed work for British and French Vogue, as well as various other publications. ‘Saddle I, Paris 1976,’ created as part of a picture story for Vogue Hommes, is an iconic example of Newton’s work. Characteristically printed in black-and-white, Newton depicts a high fashion model dressed in lingerie, jodhpurs and riding boots, submissively posed on a bed in a hotel room with a saddle on her back. This infamous photograph encapsulates various themes in Newton’s oeuvre including power, desire, voyeurism and fetishism. Women were Newton’s primary subject, whom he preferred to shoot on location as opposed to in the studio. Indeed, Newton is renowned for taking fashion photography outside the studio, stating “a woman does not live in front of white paper”.