Mrs. Newton

It was during dinner one evening just before the first publication of my photographs that Helmut asked me what name I intended to use. Jean Seberg and her Spanish boyfriend, Ricardo, were among the guests and Ricardo...asked for an atlas which I produced. He opened it to the map of Australia, asked for a pin, told me to sh ut my eyes and aim. The pin landed at the center of The Continent--Alice Springs. There s your name, he said." The photographs by and of Springs featured throughout the book--a wonderful contemporary mix of personal snapshots and professional portraits of creative figures including Yves Saint Laurent, Gore Vidal, Balthus, Robert Mapplethorpe, Brassai, Nicole Kidman, and Angelica Houston--illustrate the story of her life, in which the houses and apartments where she has lived stand as milestones. Her previously unpublished diary extracts and her new writing are lit up by gentle irony, disarming honesty, and a photographer s eye for telling detail. Intensely personal and engaging, this book charts a remarkable 20th century woman s journey through life.