Marvin E. Newman

« My photographs will live on after me.

Everything I wanted to put in a photograph is here. » -Marvin E. Newman

American Beauty

The undiscovered New York photographer

In 1952, after becoming one of the first-ever recipients of a Master of Science degree in Photography at Chicago's Institute of Design, native New Yorker Marvin E. Newman returned to his hometown. Like many artists before, he set about chronicling the city. Unlike his predecessors, Newman chose color photography as the preeminent medium for capturing the people, landmarks, chaos, energy, and unique experience of mid-century New York.

Taschen presents the artist's first career monograph, from the late 1940s through to the early 1980s, previously available as a signed Collector's Edition. From Times Square to Wall Street, from Broadway to Coney Island, Newman's vivid, original tableaux offer fresh perspectives on familiar New York landmarks. Beyond New York, Newman applies the same flawless technique and humanist sensibility to the Midwest ; the streets of Chicago ; a 1950s circus ; a legalized brothel in Reno, Nevada ; Las Vegas nightlife ; the Inuit people of Alaska ; and the groovy 1960s West Coast. Also featuring gems from his sports portfolio, including portraits of icons such as Cassius Clay and Pelé.

Newman passed away in 2023 at the age of 95, and up until his Taschen book, which came out when he was 89, his photographs remained largely undiscovered beyond a prestigious collector and gallery circle. With a new essay by critic and scholar Lyle Rexer, this first chronological retrospective offers due recognition to an outstanding talent, who provided distinctive and arresting images that leave their mark on the eye and the soul.