1 Life

Sir Cecil Beaton was born Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton on January 14, 1905, in the United Kingdom. [1] Beaton enjoyed an origin in the British middle class and “was, in the language of his time, a flamboyant homosexual.” [2] His interest in the theater began at the age of four, and by ten he had constructed a miniature theater out of a hat box and cut out paper performers to position as he pleased. [3] Though Beaton reflected that he had not been as close to his parents as he would have liked later in life, he often spoke of the inspiration of his father, who indulged a gift for mimicry even after giving up the stage. [4] Beaton’s education consisted of time at Harrow and St. John’s College, Cambridge, but he ultimately left his studies without a degree, later calling his time at university a complete waste. [5]

Beaton’s early foray into the working world involved making a name for himself as a fashion photographer during the Roaring Twenties. He eventually found company with the Bright Young Things, where he met socialites including Evelyn Waugh, the Sitwells, and the Mitfords. Hist photography was noticeable enough to justify a trip to New York in 1928, commissioned by American Vogue to photograph the stars of the day. [6] By 1930, Beaton’s fame grew ever more expansive. He published “The Book of Beauty” in that year, and leased a Georgian manor house 110 miles west of London called Ashcombe. The estate would be decorated “with deliriously baroque furniture and mummified plaster-dipped curtains.” [7] Beaton would leave after a fifteen-year lease, often reflecting on his grief at having to vacate such a cherished home. [8]

Beaton debuted as a professional theatrical designer in a 1934 production of Streamline. It was not until the late 40s when he hit his break, designing costumes for An Ideal Husband in 1947 and Anna Karenina in 1948, the latter of which starred Vivien Leigh. [9] The theatre community remembers Beaton for his costume design in such Broadway and West End productions as Lady Windermere’s Fan in 1945, Quadrille in 1952, Look After Lulu in 1959, Coco in 1969, and My Fair Lady in 1956. [10]

Beaton would go on to win his first Academy Award in 1958 for the costume design of Gigi, but he would go on to win two more Oscars in 1964 for My Fair Lady in the categories of costume design and art direction. [11] One of his final engagements involved designing costumes for Barbara Streisand in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. [12] Beaton was a celebrated artist in his British home, and he was knighted for his accomplishments in 1972. [13]

Beaton suffered a stroke in 1975, which left him partially paralyzed. However, he learned to paint and take photographs with his left hand and was able to continue producing art. [14] Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton died on January 18, 1980, in Broad Chalke in the United Kingdom. [15]

 

[1] “OBITUARIES.” Variety (Archive: 1905-2000), vol. 297, no. 12, Jan 23, 1980, pp. 110-111.

[2] Janes, Dominic. “Cecil Beaton, Richard Hamilton and the Queer, Transatlantic Origins of Pop Art.” Visual Culture in Britain, vol. 16, no. 3, 2015, 313.

[3] Jorgensen, Jay, and Donald L. Scoggins. Creating the Illusion: A Fashionable History of Hollywood and Costume Designers. Running Press, 2015. 130.

[4] Beaton, Cecil. My Bolivian Aunt. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1971. 20.

[5] Spencer, Charles. Cecil Beaton: Stage and Film Designs. St. Martin’s Press Inc., 1975. 13.

[6] “BEATON, Cecil.” Benezit Dictionary of Artists. Oxford Art Online. 2013.

[7] Petkanas, Christopher. “Cecil Beaton Is Back in a Big Way.” New York Times (Online), 11 Mar 2016.

[8] Beaton, 93.

[9] Jorgensen, 130.

[10] Chambers, Colin, ed. “Beaton, Cecil.” The Continuum Companion to Twentieth Century Theatre. 2010.

[11] “BEATON, Cecil.”

[12] Jorgensen, 132.

[13] Chambers, Colin, ed.

[14] “OBITUARIES.”

[15] “BEATON, Cecil.”

Images: Above left: “USA Los Angeles Cecil Beaton.” Associated Press Images, 18 Oct 1957, <http://classic.apimages.com.dartmouth.idm.oclc.org/OneUp.aspx?st=det&kw=cecil%20beaton&ids=USA%20Los%20Angeles%20Cecil%20Beaton&showact=details>. Below right: “Hepburn My Fair Lady.” Associated Press Images, 1964, <http://classic.apimages.com.dartmouth.idm.oclc.org/OneUp.aspx?st=det&kw=my%20fair%20lady%201964&ids=HEPBURN%20MY%20FAIR%20LADY%201964&showact=details&sort=relevance&intv=None&sh=14&kwstyle=and&adte=1495667219&pagez=60&cfasstyle=AND&rids=b4bbe12464184a71ba69ff9b357c6440&dbm=PY2000&page=1&xslt=1&mediatype=Photo>.