Cecil beaton photos

One of Cecil Beaton’s most well-known photographs is that of a crowned and bejeweled young Queen Elizabeth II.

But his credits include much more than that iconic photo.

Cecil Beaton’s Early Life

Beaton was born in Hampstead, England, on January 14, He was taught at an early age how to take and develop photographs by his nanny. He attended Harrow, an English school for boys, and then Cambridge. Once he left school, he went to work for his father who ran a successful timber business.

Beaton, however, was less successful as an office worker and began to concentrate on exhibiting his photographs.

Cecil beaton photography biography samples images Cecil Beaton. One of the top fashion photographers of the 20th century. For more about the early inventions upon which Beaton's lens-based art is founded, see: History of Photography c. Cecil Beaton's Photography. Ranked among the greatest photographers in England, Cecil Beaton was important for the elegance and decorative style of his celebrity portrait art , although he was also regarded as the doyen of British fashion photography.

He began to find regular work in such high-end magazines as Vogue and Vanity Fair. He also opened his own studio where he specialized in taking photos of beautiful men and women. Eventually, he relocated to New York where he entered into a lucrative contract with Condé Nast, publisher of Vogue and Vanity Fair.

Beaton Stirs Up Controversy

Beaton was fired from the American edition of Vogue after the editors noticed that he had inserted anti-Semitic words into an illustration.

However, when he returned to England, the Queen Mother found him a job at the Ministry of Information just in time for World War II.

This time, Beaton photographed the destruction that was done by the German army’s Blitz instead of beautifully lit celebrities and royals. Indeed, his war photography was so moving that many at the time believed that it helped convince America to join the war effort.

Beaton and the Royal Photos

Beaton reveled in photographing high society, especially British high society.

He not only photographed the Queen, starting when she was a child, but also her sister, Princess Margaret. He also photographed both Elizabeth and Margaret&#;s father, George VI, and Elizabeth&#;s husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, in their military finery.

Cecil beaton photography biography samples Cecil Beaton was an influential photographer, illustrator, costume and set designer. Beaton is known for his elaborately decorated and intricate backdrops, which often nod towards Surrealism. The sisters proved useful props for the young photographer, as he experimented with backdrops, materials and photographic techniques. Throughout the s, he shot Hollywood film stars for Vanity Fair , revealing an increasing reliance on close-ups of the face, often strongly modelled by contrasting light and shade, and also the increasing incorporation of floral motifs. After photographing Queen Elizabeth in Buckingham Palace in , Beaton was invited to become the Royal photographer of choice.

Beaton also took stylish photos of the Queen&#;s aunt and uncle, the Duke and Duchess of Kent. His photos of the Queen Mother are also famous. He was one of the Queen Mother&#;s favorite photographers because he had no trouble altering his photographs to emphasize her glamour while downplaying her plumpness. He also took photos of the newly married but banished Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

Cecil beaton Beaton was one of the foremost photographers of the twentieth century, best known for his elegant and unusual shots of celebrities and royalty. His fascination with glamour and high society continued throughout his life and he was considered a style leader in his own right, known for his easy charm and wit as well as his flamboyance of dress and waspish comments on celebrity figures, a trait that prompted the writer Jean Cocteau to dub him "Malice in Wonderland". He was also a prominent innovator in the relatively new field of fashion photography, an accomplished photojournalist , the winner of two Oscars for his costume design, and a prolific writer publishing numerous texts, including six volumes of his own diaries. Extremely ambitious, Beaton's superb aesthetic eye and flair for the theatrical allowed him to remain relevant over a year career during which he regularly reinvented himself and his style. Beaton had a penchant for the theatrical and this can be seen in this photograph of his sister Nancy who models her fancy dress costume for the Galaxy Ball at London's Park Lane Hotel.

Beaton and Celebrities

Beaton did not just photograph royalty and nobility. He was just as enamored by movie stars and celebrities and he enjoyed taking photos of them. Some of the movie stars he photographed include Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe, Vivien Leigh, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Mae West, Greta Garbo, and Lillian Gish.

Other celebrities who were photographed by Beaton include Jacqueline Kennedy, Georgia O&#;Keefe, Mick Jagger, Twiggy, Andy Warhol, Pablo and Paloma Picasso, Graham Green and Vita Sackville-West.

Beaton was also known for his fashion photography.

Years Following the War

When the war was over, Beaton designed sets for the Broadway stage and Hollywood. He is most famous for his Academy Award winning costume and set designs for My Fair Lady and Gigi. He was knighted in , but he had a stroke in that left him paralyzed on the right side.

Cecil beaton photography biography samples free

Cecil Beaton was a British fashion photographer, portraitist, memoirist, style icon, interior designer, and costume and set designer. Cecil Beaton was born on January 14, , in Hampstead, London. His father, Ernest Beaton, was a prosperous timber merchant, and his mother, Etty Sissons, came from a family of Welsh blacksmiths. Cecil grew up with his younger sisters and brother. Beaton developed an interest in photography at a young age.

As a result, he had his cameras adapted to cope with his disability, but he was still anxious about his financial situation. Because of this, he had many of his photographs put up for auction at Sotheby&#;s. The sale of his photographs guaranteed him an income.

Cecil Beaton () died on January 18 in Wiltshire, at his home, Reddish House.