About Me
(Beaton as King George IV, 1934)As a photographer, set designer and painter, Cecil Beaton’s life and work was instrumental in defining 20th century global culture. Throughout his life he showed an indefatigable work ethic and boundless energy for projects which captured his imagination. Born in Hampstead on 14 January 1904, Beaton’s early inspirations were stage actresses like Lily Elsie. His eye for colour and glamour was encouraged by his eccentric Aunt Jessie, herself a divorcee of a Bolivian Minister. He attended Heath Mount Prep School (whose alumni include George Orwell and Beaton critic and nemesis Evelyn Waugh) and Harrow before moving on to Cambridge where he dabbled in theatre and set design. He joined the ADC and the Footlights Club, delivering a few well received performances (usually taking female roles in drag) before flunking out due to poor grades. “I found school appalling, such a waste of time,†he confessed in 1962. He dawdled afterwards, taking a job in an office at his father’s insistence before moving to London and committing himself to photography. His early photographic models were his mother and beloved sisters Nancy and Baba, whose portraits he would send in to the society section of early tabloids like the Tatler (usually accompanied with a box of cigars). While never a great technician, Beaton’s early photos (shot with a trusty Kodak 3A) showed his knack for revealing the hidden glamour and fantasy in his young subjects. With an inherent knack for self-publicity, and an inclusion in the “Bright Young Things†of roaring ‘20s Britain, Beaton’s star began to rise. As a life-long friend of poet Edith Sitwell and Stephen Tennant, Beaton had found a foothold into British society. Throughout the ‘20s and ‘30s he photographed writers, models, starlets, scions and aristocracy for British and American Vogue. From 1930 to1945 he rented Ashcombe, a country house in Sussex County which he refurbished and retreated to on holidays. (Ashcombe is currently owned by Madonna & Guy Ritchie and was photographed for a 2005 issue of Vogue). At the onset of World War II, Beaton became a photographer for the British government’s Ministry of Propaganda, which lead to a series of (occasionally dangerous) globe-trotting trips throughout Asia and visits to the British Raj in India.
He emerged from World War II with a newfound public respect, due in part to his high-profile war photos used on both sides of the Atlantic to boost morale. His post-war output consisted of many stage and set designs which were universally hailed for his arresting use of color and meticulous eye for detail. Throughout the ‘40s and ‘50s he continued photographing the upper crust of English society, the highest rung of which was the Queen herself. (Beaton took his first photo of the Queen in 1939 and was acknowledged as official Royal Photographer in 1960) He frequently designed costumes and sets for films as well, including “Kipps†(1941), “An Ideal Husband†(1947) and “Anna Karenina†(1948). However, Beaton’s greatest success to date came with his designs for the Broadway version of George Bernard Shaw’s “My Fair Lady†and “Gigi†(made into films in 1964 & 1958 respectively, both of which earned Beaton an Academy Award for costume design). Now an established icon of stage and screen, he moved with fluidity through the various layers of international society.
In the swinging London of the ‘60s, Beaton found himself as a revered member of the old guard and, far from being considered out-dated, he photographed newfound counter-culture icons like Twiggy, Andy Warhol, Truman Capote, Audrey Hepburn and Jane Birkin. In 1972 he received his knighthood for contributions to British society and culture. Beaton was felled by a stroke in 1974 and though half-paralyzed, he continued drawing portraits and sketches until his death in 1980 at his country home, Reddish House in Broad Chalke, Wiltshire.
While Beaton scaled the heights of global society, published over 20 books, designed costumes for countless plays and published hundreds of photographs, his personal life was marred by disappointment. His many aspirations extended beyond photography and his real love was for the theatre. Other than his early roles at Cambridge, his only other onstage appearance was in Oscar Wilde’s “Lady Windermere’s Fan†(1948) and his lifelong ambition to become a playwright produced only one play, the charming but poorly received “Gainsborough Girls†in 1951. His love-life proved equally fruitless. While living a de facto closeted existence, Beaton unsuccessfully pursued art dealer Peter Watson for years. He also had a short but intense affair with Greta Garbo, one which he had hoped would result in marriage. Perhaps his greatest love was for himself, as evidenced in his personal diary which he kept since his youth and numbered 145 volumes at the time of his death.
While his life was fraught with personal and professional triumphs and tragedies, Cecil Beaton left a lasting impression on the world. As photography, fashion and image continue to become more readily available through modern technology, Beaton’s place in the world has not diminished with age, but has expanded.
