Arnold Newman's Environmental Portraits

    Arnold Newman was an American Photographer, born in New York City, who specialized in environmental portraiture. He was most well-known for a portrait of a composer Igor Stravinsky, in which Stravinsky is mostly hidden by his piano and only his head can be seen, and of his colored portrait of former Nazi industrialist Alfried Krupp (Wikipedia). The photo of Krupp is particularly interesting when you understand that Newman grew up in a Jewish family, and he decided to depict Krupp in the factory he used even when working for the Nazis. In the photo, Krupp is front in center, though in the shadows, giving his face a menacing look, while the factory behind him is well-lit. 

    When asked about his interest in environmental portraiture specifically in an interview with the magazine American Photo, Newman replied;

"The surroundings had to add to the composition and the understanding of the person. No matter who the subject was, it had to be an interesting photograph. Just to simply do a portrait of a famous person doesn't mean a thing."

    I think this quote perfectly explains his portraiture, as you can see who the people he photographs are in personality and in their work without having to look up any information about them. Even if you don't recognize the person he is photographing, you can understand their role in society and who they are as a person. 

    

    This is a portrait taken by Newman of painter Georgia O'Keeffe. She's a very important figure in American history considering she is a woman who achieved so many things in her lifetime. It was a period of time in which women were fighting for their rights, and weren't expected to make their own money or be independent. In this photo, O'Keeffe looks into the camera with a proud expression. The background is blank and she is the only thing in the photo. This is unusual for Newman. In my interpretation, the background is blank because she is an artist. It's for her to decorate. I don't know how to explain it, but the background is like the opposite of her paintings.

This photo is of a man named Erhard Weyhe. He was a publisher of sorts and a bookshop owner. He founded Weyhe Gallery in New York city. This gallery would feature and expose new and upcoming artists. In this photograph, Weyhe also looks proud, but his smile is much more prominent than on O'Keeffe's face. Maybe it's because he didn't have to struggle as much as O'Keeffe, or maybe he was just a generally happier person than the painter. Surrounding Weyhe is hundreds of books. Though I'm not sure, I assume every book in the room he's photographed in is a book he has published over his career as a publisher. It shows just how much he'd accomplished in his life.