Paul Newman
"Newman’s preternaturally piercing baby blue eyes shine through in every picture, and he was well aware of how his fame rested on the colour of his irises." — Peter Sheridan, Daily Express
Once, when asked how he’d like to be remembered, Paul Newman replied: "I’d like to be remembered as a guy who tried. Tried to be part of his times, tried to help people communicate with one another, tried to find some decency in his own life, tried to extend himself as a human being."
As an actor who became a film star, Newman repeatedly tapped into his times and in doing so redefined what movie stardom could be. Newman was a new kind of movie star, bringing a particular authenticity, intensity and sensitivity to his performances.
Throughout his career, Newman was extensively photographed: these images enriched film audiences’ connection to him as a cool and graceful presence both on and off-screen.
Milton Greene, Douglas Kirkland, Lawrence Fried, Terry O’Neill, Al Satterwhite and Eva Sereny are amongst the photographers who worked with Newman on and off-set across his career. From early stage work with his wife, Joanne Woodward, to his love of racing cars, to the essential 1980s drama Absence of Malice to the great success of the new western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and the cult favourites, Pocket Money and The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, Newman’s movies were an essential part of American culture.
With comment and contributions from the photographers, Paul Newman: Blue-Eyed Cool, gathers together portraits, stage, racing and on-set photography — including never before seen images — in a celebration of an actor who was always… cool.
James Clarke is the author of numerous books on and about the world of film, including Bond: Photographed by Terry O’Neill (ACC Art Books, 2020), The Pocket Essentials: Steven Spielberg, The Virgin Film Guide: War Films, The Virgin Film Guide: Coppola, Bodies in Heroic Motion: The Cinema of James Cameron and The Year of the Geek. Clarke writes for Little White Lies and has been published in Empire, Moviescope, Sci Fi Now, 3D World and 3D Artist.