His models were photographed as strong, triumphant and liberated, and with sole and total command over their bodies. He is criticized for his overly suggestive depiction of women, however he continuously strived for a contemporary female image at a time of gender and sexual liberation. As a photographer, who straddled the gap between art and commerce, Newton explored the darker side of sexuality and reveled in nudity and erotic fantasies. His works reverberated through fashion, art, and film, and dominated glamorous high-gloss magazines for decades. Helmut Newton overturned the prevailing conventions surrounding both fine art and fashion photography, bringing controversy and conversation to each and in the process innovated a new formula for editorial photography.
This year marks the centennial birthday of one of the masters of late twentieth century photography.
