Picasso, Vallauris, France, 1954
by Arnold Newman.
© Estate of Arnold Newman
Gift to the Weisman Art Museum

As photographer Arnold Newman walked through the Weisman Art Museum with his son Eric, he commented that he had photographed many of the painters whose work they saw. Thanks to a gift from Newman’s wife, Augusta, and the estate of Arnold Newman, many of those portraits are now part of the Weisman’s collection. “Since part of the Weisman’s new addition will house photographs, it makes sense for the museum to have a collection of my father’s work,” says Eric Newman, Distinguished McKnight Professor and member of the U’s neuroscience faculty.

Arnold Newman, one of the master photographers of the 20th century who pioneered the environmental portrait, photographed for many of the major magazines of the day, including Life, Look, Fortune, Holiday, and The New Yorker. His subjects included artists, scientists, and politicians. He photographed President John F. Kennedy, Pablo Picasso, Marilyn Monroe, and Alfred Stieglitz, to name a few. His philosophy was to make an interesting portrait using the surroundings to add to the composition and the understanding of the subject.

Watch a slide show of Arnold Newman’s photographs narrated by his son, Eric Newman.

This story originally appeared in the spring 2008 issue of Legacy, a quarterly magazine for U of M donors and friends published by the University of Minnesota Foundation.