Published 13/05/2014
Peter Newark reveals all about his fabulous collection of American historical pictures, exclusively represented by Bridgeman for over ten years.
King Oliver's Creole Jazz band, 1920 / Peter Newark American Pictures / Bridgeman Images
Founded in 1965, The Peter Newark American Pictures Collection is an unparalleled archive of American historical painting, illustration and photography, with images spanning the American Wild West to World War II by way of pirates and witchcraft.
Bridgeman Images is proud to have been the exclusive distributor for this world famous collection for ten years. To mark this anniversary, creator and namesake of the collection, Peter Newark, talks to Bridgeman about three generations of collecting.
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How did the collection start? "The collection was started by my father, George William Newark. He lived and worked in America as a young man and was inspired after meeting the legendary Buffalo Bill Cody at his exciting Wild West Show. Afterwards he began to collect pictures, weapons and artefacts. I officially took over my father’s collecting in 1965, although my interest began around the 1950s. From the American Pictures also expanded the military and historical content. The images come from all over the place: small private collections, auctions, junk shops, antique shops… I never used to take a holiday but instead travelled the United States with my wife, who would do the photography. Now, most of the buying and researching is done by my son Tim Newark, who is a well-established historian."
Do you have a favourite image in your collection? "I like them all! But the picture of Blackbeard the Pirate has been particularly popular, as has the whole pirate collection."
What brought you to Bridgeman for licensing? "I have always liked the look of Bridgeman and how they’ve presented themselves. Harriet Bridgeman, the founder, had also been pursuing me for some time. So in 2005 I met with the Deputy CEO, Adrian Gibbs, and the rest is history."
How has your relationship with Bridgeman grown in the past decade, particularly as licensing moves into the digital age? "The digitalisation of my images has been good – it makes them available internationally. Had I stayed independent I don’t think I would’ve had the same global reach."
How do you foresee your collection growing in future? "I’m less actively involved with the collection now but my son is still researching and acquiring more images; we’ll be sending them to Bridgeman for licensing soon. Subjects I’m currently interested in growing include witchcraft, perhaps a nice little collection of images from the UK, Europe and Salem; the German army in World War Two and the subsequent Invasion of Russia is also a big subject I’d like to tackle and, of course, the Battle of Waterloo to tie in with the approaching anniversary… All in all, my images are better at Bridgeman, working for the both of us. The partnership has been beneficial to both sides. I’m very pleased to be with Bridgeman; they’re a lovely family company."
View all images from the Peter Newark collection in the archive |
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