Submitted by Al
(Adapted from The Encyclopedia of Photography ©1963)
Sir Cecil Beaton is an English photographer with an international reputation. Perhaps best known for his imaginative portraits of leading theatrical, literary, and society personalities, he is also highly respected for his work in high-fashion photography. Beaton’s reputation is not confined to photography. He is held in wide esteem as well for his work in the theater in scenic and costume design. His successes in this field include the costumes and sets for a revival of Lady Windermere’s Fan and, of course the costumes for My Fair Lady.
Beaton was introduced to photography at an early age. Here is his own description of this event: “To a certain degree I learned the rudiments from my nurse, who was quite a good amateur photographer and developed films herself. She used to teach me daylight printing in the window, and to my mother’s horror, fixing in the wash basin.”
Very early in his life he showed an affinity for the type of elaborate high-style portraiture that later won him an international reputation. About this, Cecil Beaton recalls: “… as a child I was fascinated by the stereotyped, archaic photographs of famous actresses and society beauties which were widely shown in the illustrated papers and on picture postcards. My interest in photography was really kindled by these portraits and when at the age of eleven I was given a Brownie camera, I tried to imitate them by dressing up and posing as my sisters.”
His first exhibition was a surprising success. “It was a fluke. It was at a comparatively unknown gallery in Bond Street, but it just caught on and received great publicity. Large crowds went to it and there were even music-hall jokes. I’m going off to be photographed by Cecil Beaton.”
As a result of this exhibition he was put under contract to Vogue magazine, and in a very short time, his work in fashion and portraiture became very widely-known. Little know is the fact that his pictures were taken with nothing more than an inexpensive Kodak 3A folding camera of the type generally used by amateurs. He continued to work with this camera while working for Vogue to the dismay of the magazine’s staff and the astonishment of his distinguished subjects.
An accomplished writer, Beaton has published many books on and about photography. In the 1930s he wrote The Book of Beauty (1930), Cecil Beaton's Scrapbook (1937), Cecil Beaton's New York (1938), and My Royal Past (1939).
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