Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 9

Helmut Newton
Prunella and Sylvie

1977

$14,500
£11,010.19
€12,590.98
CA$20,258.60
A$22,531.99
CHF 11,765.50
MX$274,190.33
NOK 150,263.44
SEK 140,920.60
DKK 93,971.30
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

Helmut Newton (1920-2004) was one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century, known for his unflinching, heavily eroticized images of women. Born in 1920 in Berlin, Newton’s Jewish background forced him and his family to flee Germany as the Nazis ascended to power. The artist settled in Australia in the 1940s, where he later set up a photography studio and gradually began working for the world's best-known magazines; Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Playboy, and Elle to mention a few. However, it wasn't until the 1970s that Newton established his signature aesthetic and modus operandi; a willingness to depict a highly-erotic version of female confidence and sexual power. Newton infused fashion photography with carnal energy as opposed to the typically staid and stylized models evocative of the 1950s and beyond. Newton was also credited with helping fashion photography leave the studio and absorb/document the vitality of the street and the bedroom. Like the best of Newton's work, this image has allusions to Film Noir, BDSM, and of course the Femme Fatale. "Prunella and Sylvie" features two women seated in luxurious surroundings. With identical blunt bobs, the women exude a sense of rigidity, positioned in matching, contrived poses with an almost mannequin-like presence. This female archetype reappears throughout Newton's oeuvre. This work is a Polaroid from the legendary photoshoot that produced the photograph "Mannequins, Quai d'Orsay". Images from this session are some of Newton's most celebrated and recognizable even though some were printed in black and white, others in color. It is our understanding that this photoshoot was commissioned by Playboy magazine, but curiously wasn't published in its entirety until much later (in their international editions). Iconic and timeless, one of the works from this series was selected as the cover of Newton's 2005 book, "Playboy: Helmut Newton." Newton had a long-standing relationship and loyalty to Playboy. Although there were times in his career where he was under exclusive contract to Condé-Nast (typically one of the international versions of Vogue) he always maintained a clause permitting him to shoot for Playboy. Today, Newton's works can be found in the permanent collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the National Library of Australia in Canberra, the International Center of Photography in New York, and the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin, which was established in 2003. Note: In April 2019, a new auction record was achieved for Newton's work. Sie kommen, Paris was sold at $1.8M. Questions about this artwork? Contact us. "Prunella and Sylvie, Quai d'Orsay, Paris" Paris, 1977 Polaroid Signed by artist, verso 3.75”H 3”W (work) 10"H 10"W (framed) Very fine condition Hugh M. Hefner, Walter Abish et Gary Cole, Playboy Helmut Newton, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 2005, pp. 116-123.
  • Creator:
    Helmut Newton (1920-2004, German, Australian)
  • Creation Year:
    1977
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 3.75 in (9.53 cm)Width: 3 in (7.62 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    Very fine condition.
  • Gallery Location:
    Toronto, CA
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: 03-241stDibs: LU215214063272

More From This Seller

View All
Weegee "Sailor and Girl Kissing"
By Weegee
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Weegee (1899-1968) was equally fascinated and inspired by cinema and all of its tangents, from Hollywood movie stars to ordinary civilians going to the movies. While Weegee is typically associated with crime/disaster images, the broad theme of "entertainment" is a major component of his oeuvre. An interesting and provocative sub-genre of his cinema-related work are his images of couples (often heavy-petting) in movie theatres. Recent scholarship has established that many of Weegee's supposed clandestine images were actually staged or arranged with friends or co-operative strangers. Nevertheless, Weegee created these photographs in the dark with an array of clever techniques including infrared film, filtered flashbulb and triangular prism lens. Employed in shots such as this one, the prism lens would allow the artist to “see around corners,” useful at times when his subjects were in compromising locations. These images of kissing couples, Weegee wrote in 1959, were “his best seller, year in and year out.” "Sailor and GIrl at the Movies...
Category

1940s American Modern Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Chiro + Tabletop
By Nobuyoshi Araki
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Nobuyoshi Araki (b. 1940) is a renowned Japanese photographer acclaimed for his provocative style that blurs the line between fine art and pornography. With an oeuvre of over 450 ph...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Nude Photography

Materials

Polaroid

Ballerina
By Weegee
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Arthur Felling, better known as Weegee (1899-1968) is America's premiere photojournalist and one of the last century's most influential photographers. He would become famous, beyond...
Category

1950s Modern Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Hollywood, California
By Ernst Haas
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Ernst Haas (1921-1986) is a prolific Austrian-American photographer and photojournalist. Haas made significant contributions to the advancement of photography over the course of his career spanning 40 years. Haas is best known for his early innovation with color photography, making his name synonymous with the medium. His dynamic 1953 story on New York, "Images of a Magic City...
Category

1960s American Modern Color Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Bedside + Fringe
By Nobuyoshi Araki
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Nobuyoshi Araki (b. 1940) is a renowned Japanese photographer acclaimed for his provocative style that blurs the line between fine art and pornography. With an oeuvre of over 450 ph...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Nude Photography

Materials

Polaroid

Lisa Lyon
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Robert Mapplethorpe's (1946-1989) place in the canon was earned from his incredible output of images that ranged from beautiful to brutal. Mapplethorpe boldly showcased the beauty ...
Category

1980s Contemporary Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

You May Also Like

Self Portrait At Home, 1980
By Helmut Newton
Located in Lyndhurst, NJ
Silver Gelatin Print Signed & Numbered in blue pencil verso Along with copy right stamps and the negative number written in regular pencil Sheet size: 15.8" x 12" Image size: 14....
Category

Vintage 1980s American Modern Photography

Materials

Paper

Voyeurism for Playboy by Helmut Newton - Vintage Photograph - 1991
By Helmut Newton
Located in Roma, IT
Voyeurism for Playboy is a black and white photograph realized by Helmut Newton. Black and white photograph. From the series "Voyeurism " realized by Newton for Playboy magazine.
Category

1990s Contemporary Figurative Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Voyeurism for Playboy by Helmut Newton - Vintage Photograph - 1991
By Helmut Newton
Located in Roma, IT
Voyeurism for Playboy is a black and white photograph realized by Helmut Newton. Black and white photograph. From the series "Voyeurism " realized by Newton for Playboy magazine.
Category

1990s Contemporary Figurative Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Nudes at the Royalton - portrait of two nude models
By Ellen von Unwerth
Located in Vienna, AT
The artwork is framed and signed by the artist in a strictly limited edition of 7. It is framed in museum quality with a black hart-wood box, mat and 99% UV-resistant acrylic glass. ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Nude Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Kristine DeBell - Vintage Photo by Helmut Newton - 1970s
By Helmut Newton
Located in Roma, IT
Kristine DeBell is a  vintage photo, realized by Helmut Newton in the 1970s. The artwork represent fashion model and actress in 1970s. 
Category

1970s Contemporary Figurative Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Kristine DeBell - Vintage Photo by Helmut Newton - 1970s
By Helmut Newton
Located in Roma, IT
Kristine DeBell is a  vintage photo, realized by Helmut Newton in the 1970s. The artwork represent fashion model and actress in 1970s. 
Category

1970s Contemporary Figurative Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper