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Artist: Helmut Newton (1920-2004)
Title: Raquel Welch 1981
Year created: 1981
Medium: Silver Gelatin
Edition: Open Edition
Height (inches): 24
Width (inches): 20
This piece is unframed.
Description of piece:
Movie star, Raquel Welch confronts a hungry Doberman and is one of Helmut Newton's most recognizable works. Newton’s almost cinematic compositions provided a hyper-real backdrop for the provocative images of sculptural, larger-than-life women, and enhanced the themes of voyeurism and fetishism that run throughout his work. In meaning, the “Helmut Newton image of Raquel Welch” had a similar sense to any other photograph in Helmut’s literature, whose aim was to create a female protagonist and significantly one in control. The picture indicates Welch holding a Doberman by its leash as she towers above it on a staircase. In the analysis, this is a symbol of power and control in an era that women were perceived as sexual objects by the patriarchal society. This is a rare print, produced in small numbers from a series of transparencies that Newton considered his most provocative and important work through 1985. Always unsigned, they were sent out to major publications to simulate interest in a photographer’s work. Most were destroyed or written over. The 20"x 24" silver gelatin print comes with a Certificate of Authenticity, detailing the ownership rights which are supported by an original agreement with Helmut Newton, co-signed by his Paris agent, in 1984, and supported by a further Settlement agreement with The Helmut Newton Estate in 2012.
Artist bio:
Helmut Newton was one of the world’s most celebrated photographers whose uniquely edgy imagery is coveted worldwide by collectors and aficionados of photographic art. He was known as “The King of Kink”, making his name shooting models in striking, provocative black-and-white photographs for Vogue Magazine. His imagery broke the grounds of what was then considered respectful and elevated him to the ranks of the world’s most celebrated photographers. Newton created a working space for his models that was part decadent and part unorthodox — a safe microcosm in which fantasies became reality. Perhaps most famously of all, Newton engendered an environment in which his female models claimed the space around them with unapologetic poise and commanding sensuality. Amazingly, despite the fact that Newton was known for his erotically charged photography. Newton said, “The models were the same girls I used in my fashion work, gave them a certain elegance and coolness that I was looking for in my work.” - Helmut Newton - on models. "American Photo,” January / February 2000.