Helmut Newton & Alice Springs. Us and Them

This is a photographic love story tracing the fifty-five years of collaboration, partnership and history of Helmut and June Newton. First published in 1998, their legendary joint project Us and Them was presented in book form and accompanying exhibitions.

The book‘s first part – Us – features personal portraits of each other and self-portraits taken over several decades, revealing affection and intimacy behind each image and bringing forth nostalgia of the time. It is a photographic diary that records the life Helmut and June Newton shared away from the public eye. 

The second part of the book – Them – is a sumptuous journey through time, where the lens of the master brings forth images of stunning portraits of an array of jet set, celebrities, important cultural figures, and some of the most famous faces of the time. From Catherine Deneuve, Anjelica Huston, David Hockney, and Timothy Leary to Peter Beard, Yves Saint Laurent, Thierry Mugler, Jane Birkin, and Charlotte Rampling, among others.

The portraits taken by Helmut and June Newton in various sittings are presented side by side in pairs, thus revealing two facets of the same personality. This volume unmistakably highlights that the life and work of Helmut and June Newton were inexplicably linked in every way. One was never possible without the other.

MEDIA REVIEWS

“…an intimate glimpse of their life together in an elite, alluring world of late-20th-century fashion.” “A powerful ode to the relationship that shaped two of the 20th century’s most important creative talents.” “Us and Them is an ode to partnership, with the collection alternating between the pair’s own tender internal world and the high-voltage glamour of their social and professional milieu. This is a collection that disrupts the brand of Helmut Newton, with playful self-portraits, untidy apartments and vulnerable, hungover mornings.”