Fireman House (Children by Fence) by Marvin Newman

Celebrated for his work in sports photography, Marvin E. Newman’s work encompasses exploring the grid or drawing on particular genres while adapting the effects of evolving technology to his own artistic ambitions. Instead of blind records, he photographs to expose historical statements about what he knows. For Newman, the appeal of taking photographs of athletes in action is that it allows him to show how a still medium can capture and communicate the illusion of movement, motion and rhythm.

Born in New York in 1927, Newman attended Brooklyn College, where he studied sculpture with Burgoyne Diller and photography with Walter Rosenblum and Berenice Abbott. Following Rosenblum's suggestion, he joined the Photo League in 1948. Newman then attended the Institute of Design, Chicago where, after studying with Harry Callahan and Aaron Siskind, he received one of the first MS degrees in photography in 1952. In 1953, Newman returned to New York City and became active in the magazine field working for Life, Look, Sports Illustrated, and other publications.

He has received numerous accolades and awards over the past 50 years, including national contests at American Photography, Time, Inc. and the Art Director’s Gold Medal for Editorial Photography. He has had two major exhibitions at Bruce Silverstein since 2006. Newman’s work has flourished in the art world, landing him one-man shows at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Roy DeCarava’s Photographer’s Gallery, and the International Center of Photography, New York. Other exhibitions include the Art Institute of Chicago; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; and the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago. His work is held in numerous collections such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Art Institute of Chicago; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; National Gallery, Washington D.C.; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Eastman House Museum, Rochester; Houston Museum, Texas; International Center of Photography, New York; Columbus Museum, Ohio and the Hallmark Collection, Kansas City. He has authored or coauthored eight books on photography including Newman & Ishimoto: Reunion in Chicago: Photographs from 1949-52 (1999), Marvin E. Newman: The Face Of Sport (2002), and Seven Photo Essays Marvin E. Newman (2000). The artist continues to live and work in New York City.

Adapted from Bruce Silverstein Gallery