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Sie kommen (Dressed)

Photograph
1981 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Newton, Helmut (photographer)
Place of origin
Paris (photographed)

Brought up in Berlin in the 1920s, the Australian photographer Helmut Newton began work in the 1950s for several magazines, including Vogue, Elle, Jardin des Modes, American Playboy, Nova and Queen. Sie Kommen (dressed / undressed) [Here they come] (museum numbers E.1523-1991 and E.1524-1991) was made in 1981, when Newton was already recognised as one of the greatest fashion photographers of his time. These two images explore some of his central themes: gender stereotypes, power relations, and the photographer as voyeur, reducing women to sexual machines. These “portraits” also show Newton’s preference for tall, self-assured, masculine women, presented in an attractive as well as a disturbingly sensuous manner.

Object details

Category
Photographs
Object type
Photograph
TitleSie kommen (Dressed) (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Gelatin-silver print
Brief description
Photograph by Newton, Helmut, Sie kommen (dressed), 1981, gelatin silver print
Physical description
Black and white photograph of four women (dressed) posing against a white backdrop.
Dimensions
  • Sheet length: 32.7cm
  • Sheet width: 26cm
Copy number
5/10
Marks and inscriptions
on verso, Ink Stamp: ' COPYRIGHT HELMUT NEWTON/MONTE CARLO/REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED' In pencil: "Sie Kommen" (dressed)/Paris 1981/Signed by photographer/5/10/10-9
Gallery label
Gallery 100, 2016-17:

Helmut Newton (1948–2004)
‘Sie Kommen, Dressed and Undressed’
1981

This pair of images was first published in French and Italian Vogue, where photographs considered too risqué for the American edition of the magazine often appeared. The images are typical of Newton’s coolly detached and unsentimental vision of modern women. The models appear equally confident dressed and undressed.

Gelatin silver prints
Museum nos. E.1523, 1524-1
991
Production
vintage print?
Summary
Brought up in Berlin in the 1920s, the Australian photographer Helmut Newton began work in the 1950s for several magazines, including Vogue, Elle, Jardin des Modes, American Playboy, Nova and Queen. Sie Kommen (dressed / undressed) [Here they come] (museum numbers E.1523-1991 and E.1524-1991) was made in 1981, when Newton was already recognised as one of the greatest fashion photographers of his time. These two images explore some of his central themes: gender stereotypes, power relations, and the photographer as voyeur, reducing women to sexual machines. These “portraits” also show Newton’s preference for tall, self-assured, masculine women, presented in an attractive as well as a disturbingly sensuous manner.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.1523-1991

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Record createdApril 20, 2006
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O123154/sie-kommen-dressed-photograph-newton-helmut/
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