The Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin will launch the major retrospective exhibition, HELMUT NEWTON. LEGACY, on 31 October 2021. Originally scheduled to coincide with the photographer’s 100th birthday, it was postponed for a year due to the pandemic. Visitors can now look forward to seeing not only Helmut Newton’s many iconic images, but also a number of surprises.

The entire exhibition space on the first floor of the museum will chronologically trace the life and visual legacy of the Berlin-born photographer. With around 300 works, half of which are being shown for the first time, the foundation’s curator Matthias Harder will present lesser-known aspects of Newton’s oeuvre, including many of his more unconventional fashion photographs which span the decades and reflect the changing spirit of the times. The presentation will be complemented by Polaroids and contact sheets that give insight into the creation process of some of the iconic motifs featured, as well as special publications, archival material, and quotations from the photographer. 

It was in the 1960s that Newton found his inimitable style in Paris, as seen in his photographs of the revolutionary fashion by André Courrèges. Working for well-known fashion magazines, he not only took classic studio shots but ventured into the streets, staging models as participants in a protest, protagonists in a paparazzi story, and more. His clients’ sometimes strict requirements and narrow expectations served as an incentive for him to challenge traditional modes of representation.