(1904 - 1980)
Sir Cecil Beaton is remembered chiefly for his iconic photographic portraits of leading celebrities and for his beautiful stage and costume designs, notably for Audrey Hepburn in the 1964 film, 'My Fair Lady'. While he was a staff photographer for Vanity Fair and Vogue magazines in the 1920s, Beaton also developed a repertoire of drawings of fashion designs and famous personalities. Despite the quirky charm of his caricatures, at the age of 50, dissatisfied with his drawing technique, he returned to study at the Slade School of Art in London. In 1939, he won his first commission to photograph the British royal family, a successful professional relationship that continued for several decades – he was official photographer for Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation in 1953.
From the 1950s to the mid 1970s, Beaton’s career as a photographer of the British establishment and demi-monde was secure. In 1974 he suffered a debilitating stroke that limited his dexterity with a camera, however he taught himself to sketch with his left hand. In 2004 a major exhibition celebrating Beaton’s photographs was held at the National Portrait Gallery in London, accompanied by a smaller display of some of his most famous drawings.
