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.
| Average Sold Price |
| $596 |
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| Related Artists |
Portfolio of 12 celebrity portraits, 1982
By Cecil Beaton
Located in Middletown, NY
Milan / New York: Electa Editrice / Rizzoli International Publications, 1982. A portfolio of twelve heliogravure plates with tissue guard-leaves, housed in portfolio and slipcover....
Silver Gelatin
$1,821
H 10.01 in W 8.12 in D 0.02 in
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
$20,000
H 21 in W 19 in D 2 in
"My Fair Lady" 1958 West End Theatre Costume Drawing Mid 20th Century Modern
By Cecil Beaton
Located in New York, NY
"My Fair Lady" 1958 West End Theatre Costume Drawing Mid 20th Century Modern Cecil Beaton (1904 – 1980) "My Fair Lady," Pen and ink on paper...
Paper, Ink, Pen
$8,500
H 22.5 in W 17.25 in D 1 in
"Cecil Beaton Watercolour Theatrical Set Design for Landscape with Figures" 1951
By Cecil Beaton
Located in Bristol, CT
Original Cecil Beaton (signed LR) watercolour set design for the 2nd version of Beaton's play "The Gainsborough Girls" circa 1951 theatrical production entitled "Landscape with Figur...
Paper, Watercolor
"Fashion Eye: Venice Cecil Beaton" 2021 BEATON, Cecil
By Cecil Beaton
Located in Bristol, CT
BEATON, Cecil Edited by Pierre Bessard [124] pp. Louis Vuitton Malletier 2021 12 1/2" x 9 1/2" Photographs by Cecil Beaton. Edited by Patrick Remy. Essay by Philippe Garner. Foreword by Countess Cristiana Brandolini d'Adda. Louis Vuitton Malletier. Paris. 2021. First edition. Hardback; pink cloth-bound boards, with title debossed in blue and images pasted to front and rear boards. [c.120 pages + 28 page facsimile booklet bound in centre.] Illustrated throughout in b&w and colour. French & English. 315 x 245mm. 0.85kg. 9782369832263. Fine; as new. A scrapbook-style album of Cecil Beaton's photographs of Venice...
Paper
"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
$4,858
H 10.28 in W 8.63 in D 0.02 in
Portrait Charles Henri Ford by Cecil Beaton (circa 1937) - Original Vintage
By Cecil Beaton
Located in Cologne, DE
Portrait: Charles Henri Ford by Cecil Beaton (ca. 1937) - Vintage In this striking black-and-white portrait, Charles Henri Ford stands poised against a backdrop of blooming elderflow...
Silver Gelatin
"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
| Sold Date | Sold Price | Category | Medium | Creation Year | ||||||||||||||||
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| $596 |
Average sold price of items in the past 12 months |
| $555-$658 |
| Sold price range of items in the past 12 months |