Arnold Newman

Arnold Newman was an American photographer, noted for his "environmental portraits" of artists and politicians. He was also known for his carefully composed abstract still life images. Born but not raised in Manhattan, Newman moved across the Continental United States going from Atlantic City, New Jersey and later moved on to Miami Beach, Florida. Interested in the art field, he studied painting and drawing at the University of Miami. Unable to afford continuing after two years, he moved to Philadelphia to work for a studio, making 49-cent portraits. Eventually Newman returned Florida and managed a portrait studio in West Palm Beach. He then decided—after a couple of years— to move to New York and open up his own studio, calling it Arnold Newman Studious and working as a freelance photographer for Fortune, Life, and Newsweek. He eventually died in June of 26, at the age of 88, dying  where he was born.

Arnold Newman was a gifted photographer, well known for his environmental portraits of numerous artist's and politicians, even taking pictures of Presidents. Along with his environmental portraits, Newman was also well known for his carefully composed and meticulous abstract still images. He described the way in which he photographed his environmental pictures as an extension of the person himself. So, lets say that the person he is photographing is a politician or a chef, he would take the photographs in their office or kitchen because that was their place of work.

Arnold Newman is a great example of not letting obstacles get in your way. Even though he was not able to afford his last 2 years of college at Miami University, he did not let that stop him from pursuing his dreams and that worked out in his favor in the end. Newman was so good at taking a subject and making it blend with the photography. One of the pictures of his I truly liked was the man standing on the beams. It is such a bold and attractive picture, saying to on lookers "look at me, I'm big, I'm powerful and I'm important" which is truly amazing. Often credited for starting the genre of photography most referred to as environmental photograph, Arnold Newman will go into the photographic age books as one of the greats.