Harry Ransom Center presents Arnold Newman. Masterclass, an exhibition on view FEBRUARY 12 – MAY 12, 2013.
Over the course of nearly seven decades, Arnold Newman (1918–2006) created iconographic portraits of some of the most influential innovators, celebrities, and cultural figures of the twentieth century. Featuring more than 200 of these well-known masterworks, Arnold Newman: Masterclass also includes rarely seen work prints and contact sheets that provide unique glimpses into the development of the vision of this master of portrait photography. Additional materials gathered from the Arnold Newman archive, which resides at the Harry Ransom Center, include manuscripts, correspondence, business records, and magazine tear sheets, all providing exceptional insight into Newman’s life and career.
The first major exhibition of the photographer’s work since his death, Arnold Newman: Masterclass examines the evolution of his singular vision. The exhibition presents early experiments Newman made while working as a studio photographer in Miami Beach, including informal portraits, cityscapes, documentary images, and design studies. It was during this formative era that he began to perfect the “environmental portraiture” style for which he would become famous. After making New York City his permanent home after World War II, Newman traveled the world, fulfilling assignments for leading picture magazines such as LIFE and Holiday. www.hrc.utexas.edu