Herb Elliott, Breaking World's Record 1500 meter, Olympics, Rome

About the Photographer

Newman, Marvin E.

American, b.1927

Marvin Newman studied photography as an undergraduate at Brooklyn College in the 1940s with Walter Rosenblum and Bernice Abott. During this time he also joined the Photo League, which was in itself a training ground for a generation of photographers in New York. After receiving his BA in 1949, Newman enrolled at Chicago's renowned Institute of Design. There he studied with Harry Callahan and Aaron Siskind, and in 1952 he was one of the first students to complete an MS in photography.

During his time in Chicago, Newman cultivated a talent for street photography, which he would continue to pursue in the following years after returning to New York in 1953. Although he continued to draw on the methods and teachings of his accomplished professors, Newman chose to follow a different path professionally and he soon began working as a photojournalist. His photographs have since been published in magazines such as LIFE, Look, Newsweek, and Esquire.

Some of Newman's greatest achievements have been as a sports photographer and he began contributing to Sports Illustrated in 1953, the year it was launched by TIME Magazine founder Henry Luce. In 1960 Newman was the magazine's official photographer at the Olympic Games in Rome. There he documented, among other events, the 1500m race in which Australian middle-distance runner Herb Elliott broke the world record. In this image and others Newman captures the athlete during a pivotal moment in the event and communicates a powerful sense of exertion.

Newman continues to live and work in New York.