As a child, Newman studied painting and drawing. Encouraged by his family, he grew up with a strong interest in the Arts; always interested in observing what was going on around him at home and on the street:

"One picture had to say as much as possible about what I felt or thought, how I felt about people and the interesting ways physical things happened. As a kid, most of the stuff I drew was about people".

In the 1920's and 1930's when modern painters began to work less from life and more from the imagination, young photographers like Newman embraced the portrait.

In the early 1940's, his photographs of people began to dance with psychological insight, triggering one of the most creative periods of his career. He found that by concentrating on, and experimenting with, the interaction between figure and environment, he could symbolically express insight into the personality of his subject.

When Newman's first New York exhibition opened at A.D. Gallery in 1941, the show was a great success. Art Directors of major publications recognised Newman's talent and the curator, Beaumont Newhall, bought pictures for the Museum of Modern Art.

Newman decided to stay in New York, where he embarked on an ambitious series of portraits of artists whom he met and befriended. These portraits led to national recognition after his solo exhibit, 'Artists Look Like This', at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1945-46).

In 1946 he received the first of many assignments for publications such as Harper's Bazaar, Fortune and Life. In 1957 he received the first Annual Photojournalism Conference Award from the University of Miami.

Newman has had solo exhibitions worldwide, although for the early part of his career he exhibited mainly in the United States. Venues included the Brooklyn Museum of Art; The Art Institute of Chicago; The Light Gallery, NY; the Portland Art Museum, Oregon; the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington and the International Centre of Photography, New York.



For other wonderful portraits please explore the work of celebrated African artists Seydou Keïta & Malick Sidibé as well as world-renowned photojournalist Elliott Erwitt.

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© 2003 Hackelbury Fine Art, Ltd. Copyright for all images is held by the respective artist or estate and they may not be reproduced in any form without express premission. All rights reserved.