Raquel Welch
by Helmut Newton
Year: 1981
Medium: Silver gelatin print
Size: 16” x 20”
Signed with date inscription
Accompanied with a Certificate of Authenticity
A compelling portrait of cinematic glamour, Helmut Newton’s Raquel Welch (1980) is a 24 × 20-inch silver gelatin print featuring the celebrated actress. The image reflects Newton’s bold exploration of celebrity, femininity, and fashion at the height of his influential period. Though unsigned, the photograph is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity, offering an important trust signal for collectors seeking distinctive works by Newton.
Photographed in Beverly Hills in 1981, Raquel Welch in her backyard places the Hollywood icon beside a hungry Doberman in a staged, cinematic setting. The image later entered Newton’s Private Property Suite III (1984), a landmark group drawn from photographs made between 1972 and 1983.
There is no street-graffiti version: this was conceived as a professional fashion and portrait photograph, not a public intervention. Newton turns the backyard into a theatre of glamour, danger and control. Welch becomes the commanding female protagonist, while the dog adds tension and instinct.
This image is especially compelling in scarce signed editions. A Christie’s example was edition 2/10, while a Private Property Suite III printing was part of an edition planned at 75, though only 25 printings were ultimately made.
In our view, the work captures Newton at his sharpest—beautiful, confrontational and deliberately ambiguous.
It belongs to Newton’s mature 1980s language of erotic power and cinematic narrative, alongside Big Nudes and Naked and Dressed. For collectors, it offers a strong entry into Newton’s most recognizable visual vocabulary.
More Helmut Newton Works to Explore
Raquel Welch
by Helmut Newton
Year: 1981
Medium: Silver gelatin print
Size: 16” x 20”
Signed with date inscription
A compelling portrait of cinematic glamour, Helmut Newton’s Raquel Welch (1980) is a 24 × 20-inch silver gelatin print featuring the celebrated actress. The image reflects Newton’s bold exploration of celebrity, femininity, and fashion at the height of his influential period. Though unsigned, the photograph is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity, offering an important trust signal for collectors seeking distinctive works by Newton.
Photographed in Beverly Hills in 1981, Raquel Welch in her backyard places the Hollywood icon beside a hungry Doberman in a staged, cinematic setting. The image later entered Newton’s Private Property Suite III (1984), a landmark group drawn from photographs made between 1972 and 1983.
There is no street-graffiti version: this was conceived as a professional fashion and portrait photograph, not a public intervention. Newton turns the backyard into a theatre of glamour, danger and control. Welch becomes the commanding female protagonist, while the dog adds tension and instinct.
This image is especially compelling in scarce signed editions. A Christie’s example was edition 2/10, while a Private Property Suite III printing was part of an edition planned at 75, though only 25 printings were ultimately made.
In our view, the work captures Newton at his sharpest—beautiful, confrontational and deliberately ambiguous.
It belongs to Newton’s mature 1980s language of erotic power and cinematic narrative, alongside Big Nudes and Naked and Dressed. For collectors, it offers a strong entry into Newton’s most recognizable visual vocabulary.