Helmut Newton- Scandal and sophistication

Helmut NEWTON’s first photographs, taken in the 1930s when he was an adolescent, already testify to his cult subjects: fashion, woman and the portrait. His first success came after the Second World War when he published his work in Playboy and various other magazines and set his style in the 1970s. Thanks to a skilful cocktail of eroticism and voyeurism, power and domination, seduction and proudly assumed “bad taste”, his photos attract some people, shock others but leave nobody indifferent.

Over the last few years, Newton’s popularity has made a spectacular leap: his price index has risen by almost 100% since 2004, the year he died. In the last decade, proceeds from his sales have shot up 709% with more and more works available. Transactions increased by 93% between 2004 and 2006.

Records for his work have repeatedly been broken since 2002. The photo Big Nude III (1980) wins top prize: five years ago, a print went for $110,000 at Phillips, De Pury & Luxembourg NY; in 2005, even an extra $100,000 was not enough and bids in London went as high as £150,000 at Christie’s (November 1st 2005, $266,100). The record was broken last May in the same auction house: Big Nude III, Paris was sold for £160,000. Enthusiasm for Big Nude III was so high that even a signed lithographic print (and not a silver film) fetched $10,000 compared to an estimate of $1,500-2,000 in April 2006 (Phillips, de Pury & Company ).

The most sought after items and the most famous are his Big Nudes in black and white where glacially beautiful women stand out in sophisticated settings. Beyond large scale prints (more than a metre or even two metres) which are never put up for sale below $100,000, more classical formats (approximately 46 by 37 cm) currently go for between €10,000 and €15,000.

The prices for Newton’s works vary enormously depending on the quality of the edition. Some prints can be bought for only a few hundred euros: on 23 June, for example, his Mannequins, Quai d’Orsay II, a silver print from 1977, did not even sell despite a low estimation of only €400 (Hampe, Munich, 16.5 by 11.5cm)….yet the subject is famous and popular with collectors who bid up to €55,000 for another edition of Mannequins, Quai d’Orsay II, at a more upmarket sale organised by Christie’s NY (41.9 by 29.2cm).