Cecil Beaton

photography in faces

He is one of the most celebrated portrait photographers of the twentieth century and is renowned for his images of elegance, glamour and style.

Cecil Beaton was a fashion and portrait photographer, a diarist, painter, interior designer and an Academy Award-winning stage and costume designer.

(British, 1904–1980)

Self portrait. 1930s

Early life and education

After school, Beaton went to Cambridge, where he studied history and architecture. But he devoted most of his time to photography, costume balls and artistic parties.

Cecil started taking pictures on his nanny's Kodak. Beaton's nanny began teaching him the basics of photography. He would often get his sisters and mother to sit for him.

Beaton was born on 14 January 1904 in Hampstead, London.

THE BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS PARTY. 1927

Successes and fame

Beaton became sought-after on both sides of the Atlantic, photographing famous faces from Hollywood, the theatre world, society and the British royal family.

His first solo exhibition in London in 1927 established him as one of the leading fashion photographers and portraitists of his generation.

Cecil Beaton career took off in the middle 1920s, when he began to contribute photographs and illustrations to Vogue magazinez.

Charles James ballgowns. 1948

vogue cover by cecil beaton. march 1937

Exhibitions

Place

City

Saint-Petersburg

2020

Hermitage

1968, 2004

London

National Portrait Gallery

Cecil Beaton: Portraits

2005–2006

Bendigo

Bendigo Art Gallery

2011–2012

New York

Museum of the City of New York

2011

Newcastle

Laing Art Gallery

Cecil Beaton: Theatre of War

2012–2013

London

Imperial War Museum

Cecil Beaton at Home

2014

Wiltshire

The Salisbury Museum

2021

London

Cecil Beaton. Celebrating celebrity

Blenheim Palace

Icon of style

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In 1970, he was included in the International List of the Most Stylish People Hall of Fame.

He bucked trends and mixed clothes from different places and periods; he loved vintage fashion and wore second-hand tailored suits, antique waistcoats, double-breasted jackets.

Fashion was Beaton's passions. Over the course of his fifty-year career, Beaton himself was awarded the title of style icon and all thanks to his seasoned, concise images.

Cecil Beaton by Gordon Anthony. 1935

Cecil Beaton by Irving Penn. 1950

Cecil Beaton by Hulton-Deutsch. 1934

“All I want is the best of everything

and there’s very little of that left.”

Master of portrait

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Cecil Beaton is one of the most celebrated portrait photographers of the 20th century. He worked with many famous people and is renowned for his images of elegance, glamour and style.

Gretta Garbo
Maria Callas
Audrey Hepburn
Salvador Dali
Marilyn Monroe

Stage and costume designer

His designs defined the glamorous look of the era, as well as winning him three Oscars for costume and art direction.

Beaton also worked as an illustrator and designer for stage and film.

Tony Award for

1955

Quadrille

Best Costume Design

My Fair Lady

1957

Tony Award for

Best Costume Design

Gigi

1958

Academy Award for

Best Costume Design

Saratoga

1960

Tony Award for

Best Art Direction
Best Costume Design

My Fair Lady (film)

1964

Academy Award for

Best Costume Design

Coco

1970

Tony Award for

“A technical failure that shows some attempt at aesthetic expression

is of infinitely more value than uninspired success.”

The Windsors

Queen Elizabeth II. 1953

He often photographed the Royal Family for official publication. Queen Elizabeth II was his favorite model.

Beaton photographed members of the Windsor dynasty, there were about thirty of them in total.

Elizabeth II at the wedding of Princess Margaret. 1960

Queen Elizabeth II. 1968

Princess Margaret. 1951

He photographed Princess Margaret in a cream Dior dress in 1951, which became one of the most iconic royal portraits of the 20th century.

“Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision

against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary."

Heritage

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Cecil Beaton work is cited as influential by modern-day artists and exhibitions of his work continue to run.

To this date, Cecil Beaton remains a important figure in the history of both British photography and society.

In 1972, Cecil Beaton received a knighthood. Cecil Beaton died on 18 January 1980.

Rudolf Nureyev. 1962

MRS. WALLIS SIMPSON. 1936

GWILI ANDRE. 1930S

Cecil Day-Lewis. 1942

Coco Chanel. 1937

Audrey Hepburn Wearing A Givenchy Hat. 1964

Katherine Hepburn. 1934

Jean Cocteau. 1956

Greta Garbo. 1946

Edith Sitwell. 1927

MRS. WU KUO-CHENG POSING BY CALLIGRAPHY ART. 1945

Edith Sitwell. 1962

PRINCESS DURRU SHEHVAR OF BERAR. 1966

FOUR MODELS WEARING CHARLES JAMES COATS. 1936

Julie Andrews. 1960

MARIA CALLAS. 1957

Marilyn Monroe. 1956

Stephen Tennant as Prince Charming. 1927

Elizabeth Taylor. 1971

Maya Plisetskaya. 1964

John Gielgud. 1948

Truman Capote, 1948

Yul Brynner. 1946

Audrey Hepburn. 1955

Barbra Streisand. 1969

Jean Shrimpton. 1964

Moira Shearer. 1947

Maharani Sita Devi of Baroda
also known as Princess Karam. 1940

Edith Olivier, Mayor of Wilton, as Queen Elizabeth I for a pageant at Wilton. 1932

Fred and Adele Astaire. 1930

Twiggy. 1968

Marlon Brando. 1946

Cecil Beaton. 1968

The End

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