Helmut Newton’s Cars Makes World Premiere on Lake Como

Villa Olmo Park has been transformed into an open-air museum with the inauguration of “Helmut Newton. Cars”, a major new exhibition celebrating the legendary photographer’s enduring fascination with automobiles.

Promoted by the Helmut Newton Foundation and Larusmiani, with the patronage of the Municipality of Como, the exhibition opens to the public on Friday 15 May 2026 and presents twenty large-format panels featuring a selection of Newton’s automotive photographs created between 1956 and 2001.

The exhibition marks the first show entirely dedicated to the automobile, a recurring and significant subject throughout Newton’s celebrated career. Renowned for his groundbreaking fashion photography, Newton maintained a lifelong passion for cars, which frequently appeared in his work from the 1950s onwards.

Lake Como held a special place in Newton’s creative journey. From the 1970s, he returned to the area on numerous occasions, producing some of his most memorable images against the backdrop of the lake and its elegant villas.

Curated by Matthias Harder, Director of the Helmut Newton Foundation, the exhibition explores how Newton transformed the automobile into a symbol of modernity, luxury and freedom. Through his lens, cars become powerful cultural icons, reflecting the evolving relationship between design, fashion and society.

The exhibition was originally inaugurated to coincide with Lake Como’s renowned automotive weekend, serving as a cultural highlight alongside the prestigious FuoriConcorso event. As a complementary programme celebrating automotive design and heritage, Helmut Newton. Cars continues to offer visitors a unique perspective on the automobile through the lens of one of the twentieth century’s most influential photographers.

As described by the organisers, Helmut Newton. Cars is both a tribute to the photographer’s artistic vision and a celebration of the automobile’s enduring place in contemporary culture. Set within the historic surroundings of Villa Olmo, the exhibition offers visitors a unique opportunity to discover how Newton captured the beauty, power and allure of the motor car through more than four decades of photography.

Helmut Newton. Cars is open to the public in Villa Olmo Park, Como, from 15 May to 30 June 2026.