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Cecil Beaton More Art

British, 1904-1980

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.

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Artist: Cecil Beaton
"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...
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21st Century and Contemporary Cecil Beaton More Art

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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...
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1930s Cecil Beaton More Art

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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...
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1930s Cecil Beaton More Art

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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...
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1930s Cecil Beaton More Art

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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...
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20th Century Cecil Beaton More Art

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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 1/4" w/ floral rose bud Sanderson wallpaper boards & endpapers On the shelves at Ashcombe, I have now over fift...
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1930s Cecil Beaton More Art

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Paper

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Find a wide variety of authentic Cecil Beaton more art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Cecil Beaton in paper and more. Not every interior allows for large Cecil Beaton more art, so small editions measuring 9 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Nick Smith, Sax Berlin, and The Connor Brothers . Cecil Beaton more art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $9,500 and tops out at $9,500, while the average work can sell for $9,500.
Questions About Cecil Beaton More Art
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    When he was young, Cecil Beaton became enamored by the portraits of high-society women and actresses in the newspapers. At age 11, his nurse taught him how to use a camera and develop film. You can shop a selection of Cecil Beaton’s pieces from some of the world’s top art dealers on 1stDibs.

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