Cecil Beaton

One of the most lauded portrait photographers of the 20th century, Cecil Beaton captured 50 years of art, fashion, high society and celebrity. Beaton’s fascination of the high society guided his career, and he produced some of the most iconic images that shaped Hollywood’s Golden Age.

Born in London in 1904, Beaton developed an early interest in photography, taking candid snapshots of his sisters in the style of glamorous society portraits. By the 1920s, Beaton had become a sought-after photographer and illustrator for Vogue and Vanity Fair. In 1927 he held his first solo exhibition in London, solidifying his position as the leading fashion photographer and portraitist of his time.

Through his lens, Beaton has captured famous subjects, from celebrities including the likes of Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Mick Jagger, to artists such as Pablo Picasso and Francis Bacon. In 1937 he became the court photographer to the British Royal Family and produced portraits of Queen Elizabeth II for the next 30 years. While best known for his photographs, Beaton also created designs for stage and film.

After seeing the first theatre production of Pygmalion in 1913 Cecil Beaton spent much of his childhood creating imaginative designs for costumes and stage sets. In 1956 these designs provided the foundations for the costumes for Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s stage production of My Fair Lady that opened later that same year in New York. The Sunday Times stated in 1958 after the play had hit the West End in London, that Beaton’s vividly dramatic black and white costumes had a ‘luxury, elegance and beauty that largely contributed to its being the most successful musical play of the century’.

Beaton’s experience with the stage production and the world of fashion, combined with his knowledge of photography, confirmed him as the obvious choice for designer of both the sets and the costumes for the highly successful and much-loved film version (1964), for which Beaton won two Oscars for costume design and art direction.

Being immersed in the cultural and society circles on both sides of the Atlantic, Beaton often found himself on the other side of the camera and easel. Portraits of him by artists like Henry Lamb, David Hockney, Irving Penn and Rex Whistler showcase his sense of style, flair and charm. Cecil Beaton died in 1980, aged 76.