Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer,

diarist A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal d ...

, painter, and interior designer, as well as an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

–winning

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

and

costume designer A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costume ...

for films and the theatre.

Early life and education

Beaton was born on 14 January 1904 in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, north London, the son of Ernest Walter Hardy Beaton (1867–1936), a prosperous

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

merchant, and his wife, Esther "Etty" Sisson (1872–1962). His grandfather, Walter Hardy Beaton (1841–1904), had founded the family business of "Beaton Brothers Timber Merchants and Agents", and his father followed into the business. Ernest Beaton was an amateur actor and met his wife, Cecil's mother Esther ("Etty"), when playing the lead in a play. She was the daughter of a Cumbrian

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

named Joseph Sisson and had come to London to visit her married sister. Ernest and Etty Beaton had four children – Cecil; two daughters, Nancy Elizabeth Louise Hardy Beaton (1909–99, who married Sir Hugh

Smiley A smiley, sometimes referred to as a smiley face, is a basic ideogram that represents a smiling face. Since the 1950s it has become part of popular culture worldwide, used either as a standalone ideogram, or as a form of communication, such a ...

) and Barbara Jessica Hardy Beaton (1912–73, known as Baba, who married Alec Hambro); and son Reginald Ernest Hardy Beaton (1905–33). 1932 Standard Rolleiflex

Cecil Beaton was educated at

Heath Mount School Heath Mount School is a Church of England co-educational independent prep school near Watton-at-Stone, Hertfordshire, England. It admits pupils aged 3 to 13. It was founded as Heath Mount Academy in Hampstead in 1796. In 1934 it was relocated ...

(where he was bullied by

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...

) and St Cyprian's School,

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

, where his artistic talent was quickly recognised. Both

Cyril Connolly Cyril Vernon Connolly CBE (10 September 1903 – 26 November 1974) was an English literary critic and writer. He was the editor of the influential literary magazine '' Horizon'' (1940–49) and wrote '' Enemies of Promise'' (1938), which comb ...

and

Henry Longhurst Henry Carpenter Longhurst (18 March 1909 – 21 July 1978) was a British golf writer and commentator. For 45 years, he was golfing correspondent of the '' Sunday Times''. During World War II, Longhurst was also a member of parliament (MP) for Ac ...

report in their

autobiographies An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

being overwhelmed by the beauty of Beaton's singing at the St Cyprian's school concerts. When Beaton was growing up his

nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...

had a

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

3A Camera, a popular model which was renowned for being an ideal piece of equipment to learn on. Beaton's nanny began teaching him the basics of photography and developing film. He would often get his sisters and mother to sit for him. When he was sufficiently proficient, he would send the photos off to London society magazines, often writing under a pen name and "recommending" the work of Beaton. Beaton attended Harrow School, and then, despite having little or no interest in academia, moved on to St John's College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, and studied history, art and architecture. Beaton continued his photography, and through his university contacts managed to get a portrait depicting the

Duchess of Malfi ''The Duchess of Malfi'' (originally published as ''The Tragedy of the Dutchesse of Malfy'') is a Jacobean revenge tragedy written by English dramatist John Webster in 1612–1613. It was first performed privately at the Blackfriars Theatre, ...

published in ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

''. It was actually George "Dadie" Rylands – "a slightly out-of-focus snapshot of him as Webster's Duchess of Malfi standing in the sub-aqueous light outside the men's lavatory of the

ADC Theatre The ADC Theatre is a theatre in Cambridge, England, and also a department of the University of Cambridge. It is located in Park Street, Cambridge, Park Street, north off Jesus Lane. The theatre is owned by the Cambridge University Amateur Dramati ...

at Cambridge." Beaton left Cambridge without a degree in 1925.

Career

After a short time in the family timber business, he worked with a cement merchant in

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its root ...

. This resulted in "an orgy of photography at weekends" so he decided to strike out on his own. Under the patronage of

Osbert Sitwell Sir Francis Osbert Sacheverell Sitwell, 5th Baronet CH CBE (6 December 1892 – 4 May 1969) was an English writer. His elder sister was Edith Sitwell and his younger brother was Sacheverell Sitwell. Like them, he devoted his life to art and ...

he put on his first exhibition in the Cooling Gallery, London. It caused quite a stir. Believing that he would meet with greater success on the other side of the Atlantic, he left for New York and slowly built up a reputation there. By the time he left, he had "a contract with Condé Nast Publications to take photographs exclusively for them for several thousand pounds a year for several years to come." From 1930 to 1945, Beaton leased Ashcombe House in Wiltshire, where he entertained many notable figures. In 1947, he bought

Reddish House Reddish House, also known as Reddish Manor, is an early 18th-century manor house in the village of Broad Chalke in Wiltshire, England. It was possibly built in its current form for Jeremiah Cray, a clothier. It is a Grade II listed building. W ...

, set in 2.5 acres of gardens, approximately to the east in Broad Chalke. Here he transformed the interior, adding rooms on the eastern side, extending the parlour southwards, and introducing many new fittings.

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragedy, ...

was a visitor.. He remained at the house until his death in 1980 and is buried in the churchyard...

Photography

Cecil Beaton Photographs- General; Beaton, Cecil IB2357

Beaton designed book jackets (see

Catherine Ives Catherine Ives was the pen name of British writer Doris Ives Smith (1888–1951). In addition to many magazine articles, especially in ''Britannia and Eve'', Ives wrote two well-known cookbooks. Selected works *''When The Cook Is Away'',Ives, Cath ...

), and costumes for charity matinees, learning the craft of photography at the studio of

Paul Tanqueray Paul Tanqueray (14 January 1905 – September 1991) was an English photographer. Biography Tanqueray was born in Littlehampton, Sussex. Tanqueray first became interested in the theatre and photography when he was at Tonbridge School (1920-1923) a ...

, until ''Vogue'' took him on regularly in 1927. He set up his own studio, and one of his earliest clients and, later, best friends was Stephen Tennant. Beaton's photographs of Tennant and his circle are considered some of the best representations of the

Bright Young People __NOTOC__ The Bright Young Things, or Bright Young People, was a nickname given by the tabloid press to a group of Bohemianism, Bohemian young Aristocracy (class), aristocrats and socialites in 1920s London. They threw flamboyant costume party, f ...

of the twenties and thirties. Roystrong

Beaton's first camera was a Kodak 3A folding camera. Over the course of his career, he employed both

large format Large format refers to any imaging format of or larger. Large format is larger than "medium format", the or size of Hasselblad, Mamiya, Rollei, Kowa, and Pentax cameras (using 120- and 220-roll film), and much larger than the frame ...

cameras, and smaller

Rolleiflex Rolleiflex is the name of a long-running and diverse line of high-end cameras originally made by the German company Franke & Heidecke, and later Rollei-Werke. History The "Rolleiflex" name is most commonly used to refer to Rollei's premier ...

cameras. Beaton was never known as a highly skilled technical photographer, and instead focused on staging a compelling model or scene and looking for the perfect shutter-release moment. He was a photographer for the British edition of ''

'' in 1931 when

George Hoyningen-Huene Baron George Hoyningen-Huene (September 4, 1900 – September 12, 1968) was a fashion photographer of the 1920s and 1930s. He was born in the Russian Empire to Baltic German and American parents and spent his working life in France, England and t ...

, photographer for the French ''Vogue'' travelled to England with his new friend Horst. Horst himself would begin to work for French ''Vogue'' in November of that year. The exchange and cross pollination of ideas between this collegial circle of artists across the

Channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...

and the Atlantic gave rise to the look of style and sophistication for which the 1930s are known. Beaton is known for his fashion photographs and society portraits. He worked as a staff photographer for '' Vanity Fair'' and ''

'' in addition to photographing celebrities in Hollywood. In 1938, he inserted some tiny-but-still-legible anti-Semitic phrases (including the word "kike") into American ''Vogue'' at the side of an illustration about New York society. The issue was recalled and reprinted, and Beaton was fired. Beaton returned to England, where the Queen recommended him to the Ministry of Information (MoI). He became a leading war photographer, best known for his images of the damage done by the German

Blitz Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to: Military uses *Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign *The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War *, an Imperial German Navy light cruiser b ...

. His style sharpened and his range broadened, Beaton's career was restored by the war. Beaton often photographed the Royal Family for official publication. Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother was his favourite royal sitter, and he once pocketed her scented hankie as a keepsake from a highly successful shoot. Beaton took the famous wedding pictures of the

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

and

Duchess of Windsor Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused a ...

(wearing an haute couture ensemble by the noted American fashion designer

Mainbocher Mainbocher is a fashion label founded by the American couturier Main Rousseau Bocher (October 24, 1890 – December 27, 1976), also known as Mainbocher (pronounced "Maine-Bow-Shay"). Established in 1929, the house of Mainbocher successfully ope ...

). He photographed Princess Margaret in a cream Dior dress for her 21st birthday in 1951, which became one of the most iconic royal portraits of the 20th century. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Beaton was first posted to the Ministry of Information and given the task of recording images from the home front. During this assignment he captured one of the most enduring images of British suffering during the war, that of 3-year-old

victim Eileen Dunne recovering in hospital, clutching her beloved teddy bear. When the image was published, America had not yet officially joined the war, but images such as Beaton's helped push the Americans to put pressure on their government to help Britain in its hour of need. Beaton had a major influence on and relationship with

Angus McBean Angus Rowland McBean (8 June 1904 – 9 June 1990) was a Welsh photographer, set designer and cult figure associated with surrealism. Early life Angus Rowland McBean was born in Newbridge, Monmouthshire, Wales on 8 June 1904, elder child and o ...

and David Bailey. McBean was a well-known portrait photographer of his era. Later in his career, his work is influenced by Beaton. Bailey was influenced by Beaton when they met while working for British ''Vogue'' in the early 1960s. Bailey's use of square format (6x6) images is similar to Beaton's own working patterns.

Stage and film design

After the war, Beaton tackled the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

stage, designing sets, costumes, and lighting for a 1946 revival of ''

Lady Windermere's Fan ''Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman'' is a four-act comedy by Oscar Wilde, first performed on Saturday, 20 February 1892, at the St James's Theatre in London. The story concerns Lady Windermere, who suspects that her husband is ...

'', in which he also acted. His costumes for

Lerner and Loewe Lerner and Loewe refers to the partnership between lyricist and librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe.Kenny, Ellen, and James M. Salem. “A Guide to Critical Reviews, Part II: The Musical from Rodgers-and-Hart to Lerner-and-Loe ...

's ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons f ...

'' (1956) were highly praised. This led to two Lerner and Loewe film musicals, '' Gigi'' (1958) and ''

'' (1964), each of which earned Beaton the Academy Award for Best Costume Design. He also designed the period costumes for the 1970 film ''

On a Clear Day You Can See Forever ''On a Clear Day You Can See Forever'' is a musical with music by Burton Lane and a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner based loosely on ''Berkeley Square'', written in 1926 by John L. Balderston. It concerns a woman who has ESP and has been re ...

''. His additional Broadway credits include ''

The Grass Harp ''The Grass Harp'' is a novel by Truman Capote published on October 1, 1951Clarke, Gerald. ''Capote: A Biography'' (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1988), page 224. It tells the story of an orphaned boy and two elderly ladies who observe life from a ...

'' (1952), ''

The Chalk Garden ''The Chalk Garden'' is a play by Enid Bagnold that premiered in the US in 1955 and was produced in Britain the following year. It tells the story of the imperious Mrs St Maugham and her granddaughter Laurel, a disturbed child under the care of ...

'' (1955), '' Saratoga'' (1959), '' Tenderloin'' (1960), and '' Coco'' (1969). He was the recipient of four

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

s. He designed the sets and costumes for a production of Puccini's last opera'' Turandot'', first used at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and then at Covent Garden. Beaton designed the academic dress of the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

Diaries

Cecil Beaton was a published and well-known diarist. In his lifetime, six volumes of diaries were published, spanning the years 1922–1974. Recently some unexpurgated material has been published. "In the published diaries, opinions are softened, celebrated figures are hailed as wonders and triumphs, whereas in the originals, Cecil can be as venomous as anyone I have ever read or heard in the most shocking of conversation" wrote their editor,

Hugo Vickers Hugo Ralph Vickers DL (born 12 November 1951) is an English writer and broadcaster. Early life The son of Ralph Cecil Vickers, M.C., a stockbroker, senior partner in the firm of Vickers, da Costa, by his marriage in 1950 to Dulcie Metcalf, ...

Last public interview

The last public interview given by Sir Cecil Beaton was in January 1980 for an edition of the BBC's radio programme ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usua ...

''. The interviewer was

Roy Plomley Francis Roy Plomley, ( ; 20 January 1914 – 28 May 1985) was an English radio broadcaster, producer, playwright and novelist. He is best remembered for devising the BBC Radio series ''Desert Island Discs'', which he hosted from its inception i ...

. The recording was broadcast on Friday 1 February 1980 following the Beaton family's permission. Owing to Beaton's frailty, the interview was recorded at Beaton's 17th-century home of Reddish House in Broad Chalke in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

(near Salisbury). Beaton, though frail, recalled events in his life, particularly from the 1930s and 1940s (

the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

). Among the recollections were his associations with stars of Hollywood and British Royalty notably The Duke and Duchess of Windsor (whose official wedding photographs Beaton took on 3 June 1937 at relatively short notice); and official portraits of Queen Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother) and Her Majesty The Queen on her Coronation day on 2 June 1953. The interview also alluded to a lifelong passion for

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...

and in particular ballet and operetta. The Beaton programme is considered to be almost the final words on an era of "Bright Young Things" whose sunset had taken place by the time of the

abdication of Edward VIII In early December 1936, a constitutional crisis in the British Empire arose when King-Emperor Edward VIII proposed to marry Wallis Simpson, an American socialite who was divorced from her first husband and was pursuing the divorce of her secon ...

. Beaton commented specifically on

Wallis Simpson Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused a ...

(later titled The Duchess of Windsor after her marriage to the former

King Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...

). The Duchess of Windsor was still alive at the time of the original Beaton interview and broadcast. Beaton said that the one record that he would retain on the desert island should the others get washed away would be Beethoven's Symphony No 1, and his chosen book was a compendium of photographs he had taken down the years of "...people known and unknown; people known but now forgotten".

Personal life and death

Beaton had relationships with various men: his last lover was former Olympic fencer and teacher Kinmont Hoitsma. He also had relationships with women, including the actresses

and

Coral Browne Coral Edith Browne (23 July 1913 – 29 May 1991) was an Australian-American stage and screen actress. Her extensive theatre credits included Broadway productions of '' Macbeth'' (1956), '' The Rehearsal'' (1963) and '' The Right Honourable Gent ...

, the dancer

Adele Astaire Adele Astaire Douglass (born Adele Marie Austerlitz, later known as Lady Charles Cavendish; September 10, 1896 – January 25, 1981), was an American dancer, stage actress, and singer. After beginning work as a dancer and vaudeville perfor ...

, the Greek socialite Madame Jean Ralli (Lilia), and the British socialite

Doris Castlerosse Doris Browne, Viscountess Castlerosse ( Delevingne; 25 September 1900 – 12 December 1942) was an English socialite and the first wife of Valentine Browne, 6th Earl of Kenmare.Spence, Lyndsy, Biography She was born Jessie Doris Delevi ...

(1900–42). He was knighted in the 1972 New Year Honours. Reddish House Broad Chalke

Two years later, he suffered a stroke that left him permanently paralysed on the right side of his body. Although he learnt to write and draw with his left hand, and had cameras adapted, Beaton became frustrated by the limitations the stroke had put upon his work. As a result of his stroke, Beaton became anxious about financial security for his old age and, in 1976, entered into negotiations with

Philippe Garner Philippe Daniel Garner (born March 1949) is a British expert on photography- Garner joined Sotheby's Auctioneers and in 1971 took charge of the Art Nouveau and Art Deco department. The same year he held the first specialist auction of photography ...

, expert-in-charge of photographs at

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

. On behalf of the auction house, Garner acquired Beaton's archive – excluding all portraits of the Royal Family, and the five decades of prints held by ''Vogue'' in London, Paris and New York. Garner, who had almost single-handedly invented the photographic auction, oversaw the archive's preservation and partial dispersal, so that Beaton's only tangible assets, and what he considered his life's work, would ensure him an annual income. The first of five auctions was held in 1977, the last in 1980. By the end of the 1970s, Beaton's health had faded. He died on 18 January 1980 at

, his home in Broad Chalke, Wiltshire, four days after his 76th birthday.

Recognition

Grave of Sir Cecil Beaton - Broad Chalke Churchyard - geograph

Tony Award for Best Costume Design These are the winners and nominees for the Tony Award for Best Costume Design. The award was first presented in 1947 and included both plays and musicals. In 1961, and since 2005 the category was divided into Costume Design in a Play and Costum ...

for ''

Quadrille The quadrille is a dance that was fashionable in late 18th- and 19th-century Europe and its colonies. The quadrille consists of a chain of four to six '' contredanses''. Latterly the quadrille was frequently danced to a medley of opera melodie ...

'' (1955) *

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(1956) *

for ''My Fair Lady'' (1957) * Fellow of the Ancient Monuments Society (1957) * Academy Award for Best Costume Design for ''Gigi'' (1958) *

for '' Saratoga'' (1960) *

Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

(1960) *

Academy Award for Best Art Direction The Academy Award for Best Production Design recognizes achievement for art direction in film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. This change resulted fro ...

for ''My Fair Lady'' (1964) * Academy Award for Best Costume Design for ''My Fair Lady'' (1964) * Honorary Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain (1965) *

for '' Coco'' 1970 *

International Best Dressed List The International Best-Dressed Hall of Fame List was founded by fashionista Eleanor Lambert in 1940 as an attempt to boost the reputation of American fashion at the time. The American magazine ''Vanity Fair'' is currently in charge of the List a ...

Hall of Fame, named 1970. *

Knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

(1972)

Exhibitions

Major exhibitions have been held at the National Portrait Gallery in London in 1968 and in 2004. The first international exhibition in thirty years, and first exhibition of his works to be held in Australia was held in

Bendigo, Victoria Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban populat ...

from 10 December 2005 to 26 March 2006. In October 2011, the BBC's ''

Antiques Roadshow ''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local people (g ...

'' featured an oil portrait by Beaton of rock star

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

, whom Beaton met in the 1960s. The painting, originally sold at the Le Fevre Gallery in 1966, was valued for insurance purposes at £30,000. The

Museum of the City of New York A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

dedicated an exhibition to Cecil Beaton from October 2011 to April 2012. An exhibition celebrating The Queen's Diamond Jubilee and showing portraits of Her Majesty by Cecil Beaton, opened in October 2011 at the

Laing Art Gallery The Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, is located on New Bridge Street West. The gallery was designed in the Baroque style with Art Nouveau elements by architects Cackett & Burns Dick and is now a Grade II listed building. It ...

, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Cecil Beaton: Theatre of War at the Imperial War Museum, London: major retrospective of Beaton's war photography, held from 6 September 2012 – 1 January 2013. Cecil Beaton at Home: Ashcombe & Reddish at The Salisbury Museum, Wiltshire, from 23 May- 19 September 2014, a biographical retrospective focussing on Beaton's two Wiltshire houses, brought together for the first time many art works and possessions from both eras of Beaton's life. The exhibition included a full-size reproduction of the murals and four-poster bed from the Circus Bedroom at Ashcombe, as well as a section of the drawing room at Reddish House.

In film and television

In the 1989 Australian film ''

Darlings of the Gods ''Darlings of the Gods'' is a 1989 Australian mini series about the 1948 trip to Australia by Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh and the Old Vic Company, where Olivier and Leigh met Peter Finch.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 19 ...

'', Beaton was portrayed by

Shane Briant Shane Briant (17 August 1946 – 26 May 2021) was an English actor and novelist. Briant studied law at Trinity College Dublin but became a professional actor playing the lead in ''Hamlet'' at the Eblana Theatre, Dublin. Briant is best known for ...

. In

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

's 2016 series ''

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

'', Beaton was portrayed by Mark Tandy.

Publications

Selected works

Bengali women fetching water from the well in earthenware pots, 1944

* ''

The Book of Beauty ''The Book of Beauty'' by Cecil Beaton was his first published book of photographs. In his concept of beauty, Beaton, with sketches and photographs, highlights actresses such as Tallulah Bankhead and Anna May Wong but also modernist literary figure ...

'' (Duckworth, 1930) * ''Cecil Beaton's Scrapbook'' ( Batsford, 1937) * ''Cecil Beaton's New York'' (Batsford, 1938) * ''My Royal Past'' (Batsford, 1939) * ''History Under Fire'' with

James Pope-Hennessy James Pope Hennessy CVO (20 November 1916 – 25 January 1974) was a British biographer and travel writer. Early life Richard James Arthur Pope-Hennessy was born in London on 20 November 1916, the younger son of Ladislaus Herbert Richard Pope ...

(Batsford, 1941) * ''Time Exposure'' with

Peter Quennell Sir Peter Courtney Quennell (9 March 1905 – 27 October 1993) was an English biographer, literary historian, editor, essayist, poet, and critic. He wrote extensively on social history. Life Born in Bickley, Kent, the son of architect C. ...

(Batsford, 1941) * ''Air of Glory'' (

HMSO The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) is the body responsible for the operation of His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) and of other public information services of the United Kingdom. The OPSI is part of the National Archives of the U ...

, 1941) * ''Winged Squadrons'' ( Hutchinson, 1942) * ''Near East'' (Batsford, 1943) * ''British Photographers'' ( William Collins, 1944) * ''Far East'' (Batsford, 1945) * ''Cecil Beaton's Indian Album'' (Batsford, 1945–6, republished as ''Indian Diary and Album'',

OUP Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1991) * ''Cecil Beaton's Chinese Album'' (Batsford, 1945–6) * ''India'' (Thacker & Co., 1945) * ''Portrait of New York'' (Batsford, 1948) * ''

Ashcombe Ashcombe is a village and civil parish in the Teignbridge district of Devon, England, about eight miles south of the city of Exeter. The parish is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Kenton, Mamhead, Dawlish, Bishopsteign ...

: The Story of a Fifteen-Year Lease'' (Batsford, 1949) * ''Photobiography'' (

Odhams Odhams Press was a British publishing company, operating from 1920 to 1968. Originally a magazine publisher, Odhams later expanded into book publishing and then children's comics. The company was acquired by Fleetway Publications in 1961 and the ...

, 1951) * ''Ballet'' ( Allan Wingate, 1951) * ''Persona Grata'' with

Kenneth Tynan Kenneth Peacock Tynan (2 April 1927 – 26 July 1980) was an English theatre critic and writer. Making his initial impact as a critic at ''The Observer'', he praised Osborne's ''Look Back in Anger'' (1956), and encouraged the emerging wave of ...

(Allan Wingate, 1953) * ''The Glass of Fashion'' (

Weidenfeld & Nicolson Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd (established 1949), often shortened to W&N or Weidenfeld, is a British publisher of fiction and reference books. It has been a division of the French-owned Orion Publishing Group since 1991. History George Weidenfeld a ...

, 1954) * ''It Gives Me Great Pleasure'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1956) * ''The Face of the World: An International Scrapbook of People and Places'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1957) * ''Japanese'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1959) * ''Quail in Aspic: The Life Story of Count Charles Korsetz'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1962) * ''Images'' with a preface by

Edith Sitwell Dame Edith Louisa Sitwell (7 September 1887 – 9 December 1964) was a British poet and critic and the eldest of the three literary Sitwells. She reacted badly to her eccentric, unloving parents and lived much of her life with her governess ...

and an introduction by Christopher Isherwood (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1963) * ''Royal Portraits'' with an introduction by Peter Quennell (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1963) * ''Cecil Beaton's 'Fair Lady (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1964) * ''The Best of Beaton'' with an introduction by

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...

(Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1968) * ''My Bolivian Aunt: A Memoir'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1971)

Diaries

* ''Cecil Beaton's Diaries: 1922–39 The Wandering Years'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1961) * ''Cecil Beaton's Diaries: 1939–44 The Years Between'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1965) * ''Cecil Beaton's Diaries: 1944–48 The Happy Years'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1972) * ''Cecil Beaton's Diaries: 1948–55 The Strenuous Years'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1973) * ''Cecil Beaton's Diaries: 1955–63 The Restless Years'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1976) * ''Cecil Beaton's Diaries: 1963–74 The Parting Years'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1978) * ''Self Portrait with Friends: The Selected Diaries of Cecil Beaton 1926–1974'' edited by

Richard Buckle (Christopher) Richard Sandford Buckle CBE (6 August 1916 – 12 October 2001), was a lifelong English devotee of ballet, and a well-known ballet critic. He founded the magazine ''Ballet'' in 1939. Early life Buckle was the only son of Lieute ...

(Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1979) * ''The Unexpurgated Beaton: The Cecil Beaton Diaries as they were written'' with an introduction by

(Orion, 2003) * ''Beaton in the Sixties: More Unexpurgated Diaries'' with an introduction by Hugo Vickers (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2004)

Photographs

* ''

Sir William Walton Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade (entertainmen ...

'', 1926 * '' Stephen Tennant'', 1927 * ''

Lady Diana Cooper Diana, Viscountess Norwich (née Lady Diana Olivia Winifred Maud Manners; 29 August 1892 – 16 June 1986) was an English actress and aristocrat who was a well-known social figure in London and Paris. As a young woman, she moved in a celebrat ...

'', 1928 * ''

Charles James (designer) Charles Wilson Brega James (18 July 1906 – 23 September 1978) was an English-American fashion designer. He is best known for his ballgowns and highly structured aesthetic. James is one of the most influential fashion designers of the 20th cen ...

'', 1929 * '' Lillian Gish'', 1929 * ''

Oliver Messel Oliver Hilary Sambourne Messel (13 January 1904 – 13 July 1978) was an English artist and one of the foremost stage designers of the 20th century. Early life Messel was born in London, the second son of Lieutenant-Colonel Leonard Messel a ...

'', 1929 * ''

Lord David Cecil Lord Edward Christian David Gascoyne-Cecil, CH (9 April 1902 – 1 January 1986) was a British biographer, historian, and scholar. He held the style of "Lord" by courtesy, as a younger son of a marquess. Early life and studies David Cecil was ...

'', 1930 * ''Lady Georgia Sitwell'', 1930 * ''

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...

'', 1931 * '' Molly Fink'', 1926 * ''

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

'', 1933 * ''

Dürrüşehvar Sultan ota, خدیجه خیریه عائشه درشهوار سلطان , title = Princess of Berar, Princess Imperiale of the Ottoman Empire , image = Cecil Beaton Photographs- Political and Military Personalities; Durri Shehvar, Princess ...

'', 1933 * ''

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

'', 1935 * ''

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...

'', 1936 * '' Natalie Paley'', 1936 * ''

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the prominent Huxle ...

'', 1936 * ''

Daisy Fellowes Daisy Fellowes (''née'' Marguerite Séverine Philippine Decazes de Glücksberg; 29 April 1890, in Paris – 13 December 1962, in Paris) was a prominent French socialite, acclaimed beauty, minor novelist and poet, Paris editor of American ''Harp ...

'', 1937 * ''

Helen of Greece and Denmark Helen of Greece and Denmark ( el, Ελένη, ''Eleni''; ; 2 May 1896 – 28 November 1982) was the queen mother of Romania during the reign of her son King Michael I (1940–1947). She was noted for her humanitarian efforts to save Romanian J ...

, Queen Mother of Romania'', 1937 * '' Lady Ursula Manners'', 1937 * ''Queen

Sita Devi of Kapurthala Maharaj Kumar Rani Sita Devi of Kapurthala (30 September 1915 − 2002), also known as Princess Karam and the Pearl of India, was the wife of Karamjit Singh, a younger son of Maharaja Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of the princely state of Kapurthal ...

'', 1940 * ''Bomb Victim'' (Eileen Dunne), 1940 * ''

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

'', 1940 * ''

Graham Sutherland Graham Vivian Sutherland (24 August 1903 – 17 February 1980) was a prolific English artist. Notable for his paintings of abstract landscapes and for his portraits of public figures, Sutherland also worked in other media, including printmaking ...

'', 1940 * ''

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

'', 1941 * ''

Walter Sickert Walter Richard Sickert (31 May 1860 – 22 January 1942) was a German-born British painter and printmaker who was a member of the Camden Town Group of Post-Impressionist artists in early 20th-century London. He was an important influence on d ...

'', 1942 * ''Maharani

Gayatri Devi Gayatri Devi (born as Princess Gayatri Devi of Cooch Behar; 23 May 1919 − 29 July 2009) was the third Maharani consort of Jaipur from 1940 to 1949 through her marriage to Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II. Following her husband's signature for th ...

, Rajmata of

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known ...

'', 1943 * ''

John Pope-Hennessy Sir John Wyndham Pope-Hennessy (13 December 1913 – 31 October 1994), was a British art historian. Pope-Hennessy was Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum between 1967 and 1973, and Director of the British Museum between 1974 and 1976. ...

'', 1945 * ''

Isabel Jeans Isabel Jeans (16 September 1891 – 4 September 1985) was an English stage and film actress known for her roles in several Alfred Hitchcock films and her portrayal of Aunt Alicia in the 1958 musical film '' Gigi''. Early life and career Bo ...

'', 1945 * ''

'', 1946 * ''

Yul Brynner Yuliy Borisovich Briner (russian: link=no, Юлий Борисович Бринер; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner, was a Russian-born actor. He was best known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in th ...

'', 1946 *'' Princess Fawzia Fuad of Egypt, Queen of Iran'' * '' Vivien Leigh'', 1947 * '' Marlon Brando'', 1947 * ''

'', 1948–1949 * ''

Bobby Henrey Robert Henrey (born 26 June 1939) is an Anglo-French former child actor best known for his role as the son of the French ambassador to London in the classic 1948 English film '' The Fallen Idol'', directed by Carol Reed. Personal Henrey was the ...

'', 1948 * '' Countess Cristiana Brandolini d'Adda, 1951 * ''

'', 1951 * ''

Vita Sackville-West Victoria Mary, Lady Nicolson, CH (née Sackville-West; 9 March 1892 – 2 June 1962), usually known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author and garden designer. Sackville-West was a successful novelist, poet and journalist, as wel ...

'', 1952 * '' C. Z. Guest'', 1952 * ''

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

'', 1953 * ''

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

's Coronation'', 1953 * '' Alexis von Rosenberg, Baron de Redé'', 1953 * ''

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

'', 1954 * ''

Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956. Kelly ...

'', 1954 * ''

Mona von Bismarck Mona von Bismarck (''née'' Strader; February 5, 1897 – July 10, 1983), also known as Mona Bismarck, was an American socialite, fashion icon, and philanthropist. Her five husbands included Harrison Williams, among the richest men in America, an ...

'', 1955 * ''

Bernard Berenson Bernard Berenson (June 26, 1865 – October 6, 1959) was an American art historian specializing in the Renaissance. His book ''The Drawings of the Florentine Painters'' was an international success. His wife Mary is thought to have had a large ...

'', 1955 * ''

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was si ...

'', 1956 * ''Mrs. Charles (

Jayne Wrightsman Jayne Kirkman Wrightsman (née Larkin; October 21, 1919 – April 20, 2019) was an American philanthropist, arts collector and widow of Charles B. Wrightsman (1895–1986). She was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in ...

)'', 1956 * '' Maria Callas'', 1956 * '' Dame Edith Sitwell'', 1956 * ''

Colin Wilson Colin Henry Wilson (26 June 1931 – 5 December 2013) was an English writer, philosopher and novelist. He also wrote widely on true crime, mysticism and the paranormal, eventually writing more than a hundred books. Wilson called his phil ...

'', 1956 * ''

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

'', 1956 * ''

Leslie Caron Leslie Claire Margaret Caron (; born 1 July 1931) is a French-American actress and dancer. She is the recipient of a Golden Globe Award, two BAFTA Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards. She is one ...

'', 1957 * ''

Dolores Guinness Dolores Guinness (31 July 1936 – 20 January 2012) was a German-born "Freiin" (Baroness), socialite, fashion icon and jet set member of the 1950s and 1960s. She has been a member of the International Best Dressed List since 1970. Her mother was ...

'', 1958 * '' Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon'', 1960 * '' Albert Finney'', 1961 * ''

Cristóbal Balenciaga , birth_name = Cristóbal Balenciaga Eizaguirre , birth_date = , birth_place = Getaria, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Xàbia, Spain , resting_place = Getaria Cemetery , education = , label_name = Balenciaga , ...

'', 1962 * ''

Lee Radziwill Caroline Lee Bouvier ( ), later Canfield, Radziwiłł (), and Ross (March 3, 1933 – February 15, 2019), usually known as Princess Lee Radziwill, was an American socialite, public-relations executive, and interior decorator. She was the y ...

'', 1962 * '' Karen Blixen'', 1962 * ''

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev ( ; Tatar/ Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев; rus, Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев, p=rʊˈdolʲf xɐˈmʲetəvʲɪtɕ nʊˈrʲejɪf; 17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet ...

'', 1963 * '' Audrey Hepburn'', 1964 * ''

Margot Fonteyn Dame Margaret Evelyn de Arias DBE (''née'' Hookham; 18 May 191921 February 1991), known by the stage name Margot Fonteyn, was an English ballerina. She spent her entire career as a dancer with the Royal Ballet (formerly the Sadler's Wells ...

'', 1965 * '' Jacqueline Kennedy'', 1965 * ''

Sheridan Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 5th Marquess of Dufferin and Ava Sheridan Frederick Terence Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 5th Marquess of Dufferin and Ava (9 July 1938 – 29 May 1988) was a British patron of the arts. Less formally, he was usually called Sheridan Dufferin. Childhood and inheritance Born into ...

'', 1965 * ''

Jamie Wyeth James Browning Wyeth (born July 6, 1946) is an American realist painter, son of Andrew Wyeth, and grandson of N.C. Wyeth. He was raised in Chadds Ford Township, Pennsylvania, and is artistic heir to the Brandywine School tradition — painter ...

'', 1966 * ''

Georgia O'Keeffe Georgia Totto O'Keeffe (November 15, 1887 – March 6, 1986) was an American modernist artist. She was known for her paintings of enlarged flowers, New York skyscrapers, and New Mexico landscapes. O'Keeffe has been called the "Mother of Ame ...

'', 1966 * ''

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

'', 1967 * ''

Twiggy Dame Lesley Lawson (''née'' Hornby; born 19 September 1949) is an English model, actress, and singer, widely known by the nickname Twiggy. She was a British cultural icon and a prominent teenaged model during the swinging '60s in London. ...

'', 1967 * ''

'', 1968 * ''

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...

'', 1969 * ''

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

'', 1969 * '' Gloria Guinness'', 1970 * ''

Hubert de Givenchy Count Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy (; 21 February 1927 – 10 March 2018) was a French aristocrat and fashion designer who founded the luxury fashion and perfume house of Givenchy in 1952. He is famous for having designed much of the ...

'', 1970 * ''

Mae West Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...

'', 1970 * ''

David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists o ...

'', 1970 * ''

Jane Birkin Jane Mallory Birkin, Order of British Empire, OBE (born 14 December 1946) is an English-French singer and actress. She attained international fame and notability for her decade-long musical and romantic partnership with Serge Gainsbourg. She als ...

'', 1971 * ''

Marie-Hélène de Rothschild Marie-Hélène Naila Stephanie Josina de Rothschild (; November 17, 1927 – March 1, 1996) was a French socialite who became a doyenne of Parisian high-society and was a member of the prominent Rothschild banking family of France. Early life ...

'', 1971 * ''

Marisa Berenson Vittoria Marisa Schiaparelli Berenson (born February 15, 1947) is an American actress and model. She appeared on the front covers of ''Vogue'' and ''Time'', and won the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as ...

'' as ''

Luisa Casati Luisa, Marchesa Casati Stampa di Soncino (born Luisa Adele Rosa Maria Amman; 23 January 1881 – 1 June 1957), was an Italian heiress, muse, and patroness of the arts in early 20th-century Europe. Early life Luisa Adele Rosa Maria Amman was born ...

'', 1971 * '' Jacqueline de Ribes'', 1971 * ''

Pauline de Rothschild Pauline, Baroness de Rothschild (née Potter; December 31, 1908 – March 8, 1976) was an American fashion designer, writer and, with her second husband, a translator of both Elizabethan poetry and the plays of Christopher Fry.Philippe de Rothschil ...

'', 1972 * ''

Tina Chow Tina Chow (born Bettina Louise Lutz, April 18, 1950 – January 24, 1992) was an American model and jewelry designer who was considered an influential fashion icon of the 1970s and 1980s. She was the second wife of restaurateur Michael Chow ...

'', 1973 * ''

Gilbert & George Gilbert Prousch, sometimes referred to as Gilbert Proesch (born 17 September 1943 in San Martin de Tor, Italy), and George Passmore (born 8 January 1942 in Plymouth, United Kingdom), are two artists who work together as the collaborative art d ...

'', 1974 * ''

Inès de La Fressange Ines or INES may refer to: People * Ines (name), a feminine given name, also written as Inés or Inês * Saint Ines or Agnes (), Roman virgin–martyr * Eda-Ines Etti (stage name: ''Ines''; born 1981), Estonian singer Places * Doña Ines, a vo ...

'', 1978 * ''

Paloma Picasso Paloma Picasso (born Anne Paloma Ruiz-Picasso y Gilot on 19 April 1949) is a French and Spanish fashion designer and businesswoman, best known for her jewelry designs for Tiffany & Co, and her signature perfumes. She is the daughter of artist P ...

'', 1978 * ''

Caroline of Monaco Princess Caroline of Monaco (Caroline Louise Marguerite; born 23 January 1957) is, by her marriage to Prince Ernst August, the Princess of Hanover. As the eldest child of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and Grace Kelly, she is the elder siste ...

'', 1978 * ''Olimpia de Rothschild'', 1978 * ''

Dayle Haddon Dayle Haddon (born May 26, 1948) is a Canadian model and actress, presently known for promoting anti-aging products manufactured by L'Oréal. Additionally, she is credited as author of ''Ageless Beauty: A Woman's Guide to Lifelong Beauty and Well ...

'', 1979

References

External links

* * * * *
Theatre Archive University of Bristol
*
Cecil Beaton textile designs designed in 1948 for Zika Ascher

Cecil Beaton
interview on BBC Radio 4 ''

'', 1 February 1980

Archival resources

Papers of Sir Cecil Beaton
(1922–1980, 38 archival boxes) at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

Cecil Beaton Papers
(1938–1979, 1 archival box) at

Princeton University Library Princeton University Library is the main library system of Princeton University. With holdings of more than 7 million books, 6 million microforms, and 48,000 linear feet of manuscripts, it is among the largest libraries in the world by number of ...

Cecil Beaton Studio Archive
at

Picture Library
W.H. Crain Costume and Scene Design Collection
at the

Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaton, Cecil 1904 births 1980 deaths 20th-century diarists 20th-century LGBT people Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Beaton family Best Art Direction Academy Award winners Best Costume Design Academy Award winners Bisexual artists Bisexual men British portrait photographers Broadway set designers Burials in Wiltshire Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Civil servants in the Ministry of Information (United Kingdom) Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Donaldson Award winners English costume designers English diarists English interior designers English scenic designers English socialites Fashion illustrators Fashion photographers Knights Bachelor LGBT artists from the United Kingdom LGBT fashion designers LGBT people from England Opera designers People associated with the University of East Anglia People educated at Harrow School People educated at Heath Mount School People educated at St Cyprian's School Photographers from London Photography in India Photography in Japan Theatrical photographers Tony Award winners War photographers

Early life and education

Career

Photography

Stage and film design

Diaries

Last public interview

Personal life and death

Recognition

Exhibitions

In film and television

Publications

Selected works

Diaries

Photographs

References

Further reading

External links

Archival resources