1937
Cecil Beaton developed a distinctive style of photography where the subject was immersed in backgrounds made of unusual materials such as paper-mâché or aluminum foil. A socialite who rubbed elbows with royalty, celebrities and the wealthy aristocracy, the British photographer captured some of the most famous names of his time.
Beaton was born in London in 1904 to a successful lumber merchant and amateur actor. He received his first camera as a gift at age 11. Beaton later attended St. John’s College in Cambridge and studied art, history and architecture. He dropped out in 1925 and went to work in the family lumber business, but his free time was spent absorbed in photography.
Beaton befriended Sir Osbert Sitwell, who was captivated by his photographs and funded his first exhibition. It was an immediate sensation, leading to work with major magazines.
With a photography contract from Condé Nast, Beaton left for New York. By the end of the 1920s, he had worked as a staff photographer for Vanity Fair and Vogue. He continued to cultivate his unique portraiture style and published his work in several books. One of his greatest achievements was a commission from the British Royal Family in 1939, a relationship which endured for decades. During World War II, he served as a wartime photographer in Africa and East Asia.
After the war, Beaton returned to private portrait commissions. He also began designing costumes and sets for theater and the silver screen, winning an Academy Award for Best Costume Design for Gigi and awards for costume design and art direction for My Fair Lady. He also won costume design Tony awards for the Broadway shows Quadrille, My Fair Lady, Saratoga and Coco.
Beaton designed the sets and costumes for a production of the opera Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and then at Covent Garden, London. His diaries, which were scrapbooks of his life and interests, have garnered wide interest, and several volumes of them have been published.
On 1stDibs, find Cecil Beaton’s photography, drawings and watercolors, paintings and more.
"Cecil Beaton's Scrapbook" 1937 BEATON, Cecil
By Cecil Beaton
Located in Bristol, CT
BEATON, Cecil [135] pp. Charles Scribner's Sons 1937 11 1/2" x 9 1/4" w/ floral rose bud Sanderson wallpaper boards & endpapers On the shelves at Ashcombe, I have now over fift...
Paper
"Cecil Beaton's Scrapbook" 1937 BEATON, Cecil
By Cecil Beaton
Located in Bristol, CT
BEATON, Cecil [136] pp. Charles Scribner's Sons 1937 11 1/2" x 9 1/2" On the shelves at Ashcombe, I have now over fifty diaries & scrapbooks, memorials of many violated magazine...
Paper
The Book Of Beauty
By Cecil Beaton
Located in Bristol, CT
BEATON, Cecil [67] pp. Duckworth Press 1930 11 1/4 x 9" Amazing/ unique copy hand-painted by Cecil Beaton himself w/ his signature 'rose buds' over the polka dot boards 'I have...
Paper
"The Book Of Beauty" 1930 BEATON, Cecil
By Cecil Beaton
Located in Bristol, CT
BEATON, Cecil [67] pp. Duckworth 1930 11 1/8" x 9" Exceedingly rare with the jacket Illustrated with a coloured frontispiece from the author's drawing of Queen Alexandra, 27 collotype reproductions of his photographs, and 100 line drawings in the text. I have tried to make my book an analysis of modern beauty, a collection of the loveliest ladies I have ever seen, and, in time, it may become a sentimental document for our granchildren, to marvel at all the types of beauty to-day; the latest varieties of Venus as well as the counterparts of former belles. The Book of Beauty is Cecil Beaton's first book. It is an unashamed paean to the beauty of the women who inhabit his world. The book is inspired by books of beauty published in the Victorian period and by his childhood fascination with the theatricality and glamour of the opposite sex. Photographs of women are accompanied by flowery descriptions. Sitters include Baba and Nancy Beaton, Edith Sitwell, Tallulah Bankhead, Tilly Losch...
Paper
Cecil Beaton 1965 For David Bailey's Box of Pin-Ups
By Cecil Beaton
Located in Bristol, CT
B&W framed photo of Cecil Beaton (1904-1980) shot by David Bailey c1965 for his now iconic folio Box of Pin-Ups Photo Sz: 14"H x 12"W Frame Sz: 19 1/2"H x ...
Paper
!["Miss Parlow [as] The Blue Boy Act II Of Landscape w/ Figures" by Cecil Beaton](https://a.1stdibscdn.com/a_12601/1698158546008/Untitled_master.jpg?width=240)
"Miss Parlow [as] The Blue Boy Act II Of Landscape w/ Figures" by Cecil Beaton
By Cecil Beaton
Located in Bristol, CT
Original Cecil Beaton (1904-1980) c1950 watercolour on paper 'The Blue Boy' Miss Paulow (UL) signed 'Beaton' (LR) Art Sz: 14 1/2"H x 11"W Frame Sz: 27"H x 22"W
Watercolor
Margot Asquith, Lady Oxford, 1927 - Cecil Beaton (Portrait Photography)
By Cecil Beaton
Located in London, GB
Margot Asquith, Lady Oxford, 1927 - Cecil Beaton (Portrait Photography) Top half of red inkwash signature on tape and unknown studio label fixed to mount Inscribed 'Lady Oxford' on ...
Silver Gelatin
Cecil Beaton
Located in New York, NY
Signed by the photographer
Silver Gelatin
Antique French Illustrated Book “Aventures de Deux Écoliers”, 1925 - 2C45
Located in Bordeaux, FR
An elegant antique French illustrated book titled Aventures de Deux Écoliers, written by Paul Cerville and published in Paris by Librairie Gedalge in 1925. This edition features a s...
Paper
Ruth Ford - American actress and model - Original Photography by Cecil Beaton
By Cecil Beaton
Located in Cologne, DE
Ruth Ford - American actress and model - Original Photography by Cecil Beaton Photo taken in 1940s Sir Cecil Beaton (1904-1980) is considered one of the mo...
Silver Gelatin
Dorothy M.T. Colles Anthology Manuscript in Painted Binding
Located in Middletown, NY
This elegantly decorated Florentine album belonged to the young Dorothy Colles, who received it as a present in 1931 when she was 14 years of age. On the cover Colles notes "This boo...
Leather, Paper
Decoration 1 - Original Photograph by Emile Deschler - Mid-20th Century
By Emile Deschler
Located in Roma, IT
Decoration 1 is an Original Photograph realized by Emile Deschler (1910-1991). The b/w photo is in very good condition included a cardboard passpartout (37x26 cm). No signature. E...
Photographic Paper
