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Cecil Beaton

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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Creator: Cecil Beaton
1966 Cecil Beaton CENTENAIRE de MONTE, CARLO Lithographic Poster in Colours
By Cecil Beaton
Located in Beirut, LB
“ Centenaire de Monte-Carlo “ 1966, rare big format lithographic poster  for the celebration of the 100 anniversary of Monte-Carlo created by Cecil Beaton     printed by Imprimerie...
Category

1960s Monacan Mid-Century Modern Vintage Cecil Beaton

Materials

Wood, Paper

Beaton In Vogue 1st Edition Hardcover Book
By Cecil Beaton
Located in Stamford, CT
Beaton In Vogue 1st Edition hardcover book. Beaton in Vogue By Josephine Ross. Published by Clarkson N. Potter, First American Edition, 1986. 24...
Category

1980s American Hollywood Regency Vintage Cecil Beaton

Materials

Paper

Grand Canal of Venice Watercolor
By Cecil Beaton
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
This stylish and beautiful watercolor of the Grand Canal of Venice was painted by Cecil Beaton and dates to the 1920s. The piece was acquired from a Pa...
Category

Early 20th Century Italian Romantic Cecil Beaton

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Paper

Related Items
Cecil Beaton's Fair Lady - Cecil Beaton - 1st US edition, 1964
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Published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1st US edition, New York, Chicago and San Francisco, 1964. Hardback English text. This rare and beautiful book charts the journey of the fil...
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Lost Cities of Asia Hardcover Book 1st Edition 1966 by Wim Swaan
Located in North Hollywood, CA
LOST CITIES OF ASIA: Ceylon, Pagan, Angkor. Hardcover large coffee table book. January 1, 1966 by Wim Swaan Author. Published by Elek, London, 1966. FIRST EDITION. New York [196...
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Asia, Traditions and Treasures by Fairservis Walter A. Hardcover Book 1st Editio
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Jamie Wyeth by Jamie Wyeth Hardcover Book 1980 1st Ed.
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Jamie Wyeth by Jamie Wyeth Book. Published by Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1980. Title: Jamie Wyeth Publisher: Houghton Mifflin, Boston Publication Date: 1980 Binding: Hardcover Conditi...
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Thousand Islands of the Adriatic Hardcover Book 1965 1st Edition
Located in North Hollywood, CA
The Thousand Islands of the Adriatic Hardcover Book 1965. Text by Antun Soljan Published by Yugoslavija 1st edition 1965.  
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1960s European Folk Art Vintage Cecil Beaton

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"Monte Walsh" 1970 U.S. Six Sheet Film Poster
Located in New York, NY
Original 1970 U.S. six sheet poster by Jean-Claude Labret for the film "Monte Walsh" directed by William A. Fraker with Lee Marvin / Jeanne Moreau / Jack Palance...
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1970s American Vintage Cecil Beaton

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Watercolor of a French Castle by Unknown Artist
Located in Pasadena, CA
Dreamy landscape picturing a view of a castle in France. Large original frame made of walnut. I love the soft and delightful pastel colors that are used. The colors add emotion to...
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1940s French Romantic Vintage Cecil Beaton

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"Monte Walsh" 1970 U.S. 24 Sheet Film Poster
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1970s American Vintage Cecil Beaton

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Vision of Frank Lloyd Wright by Thomas a. Heinz Hardcover Book 1st Edition
By Frank Lloyd Wright
Located in North Hollywood, CA
The Vision of Frank Lloyd Wright. by Thomas A. Heinz large heavy hardcover coffee table book. A Complete Guide To The Designs Of An Architectural Genius. Frank Lloyd Wright's career, sometimes tragic, sometimes tempestuous - at all times creative - has been examined and reexamined in numerous studies and articles both during his lifetime and since his death in 1959, which occurred shortly before the completion of his most famous project, New York's Guggenheim Museum. Virtually every structure that Wright built is represented in this extensive survey of his life's work. His genius at architectural design enable him to work out extremely complex buildings in his head and translate them on to paper in a matter of hours, as the famous story of his design presentation of Falling Water illustrates. His work continues to draw great admiration and interest to this day. His often tempestuous and sometimes tragic life and career are given full coverage in this book. Hundreds of photos, both archival and recent chart his amazing work and influence on all who followed. This concise consideration of Wright's life and work not only offers new insights into the character of this complex, powerful and at all times confident personality, but also the architectural legacy he left behind and which exists to this day in the vast number of homes and public buildings photographed...
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20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Cecil Beaton

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1946 Grenoble - Centenaire de La Salette Original Vintage Poster
Located in Winchester, GB
Stunning poster from 1946 creating in celebration of the Centenaire de La Salette or Centennary of Our Lady of La Salette in Grenoble. The Marian apparition was reported by two young...
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Pistils - Robert Mapplethorpe, Photography Hardcover Cased Book 1st Edition 1996
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Located in Philadelphia, PA
Pistils, Photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe with an Essay by John Ashbery. Hardcover in case and dust jacket – 1st Edition, 1996 Robert Mapplethorpe began taking photographs i...
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Antique Oil Painting Grand Canal Venice Alfred Pollentine 19th Century
By Alfred Pollentine
Located in London, GB
This is a beautiful oil on canvas painting of the view of the The Grand Canal in Venice by the renowned British artist Alfred Pollentine (1836-1890) and signed lower right 'A Pollentine, 19th century in date. This beautiful landscape captures a striking view of the Grand Canal, it features a busy canal scene with gondoliers in the foreground, in the distance the facades of Saint Mark's complete the painting. Housed in it's original and beautiful gilt gallery frame. Several examples of his work have sold at top auction...
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Previously Available Items
Cecil Beaton, War Photographs 1939-1945
By Cecil Beaton
Located in London, GB
Cecil Beaton - War Photographs 1939 - 1945 Published by the Imperial War Museum, London 1981. Hardback in dust jacket. Though he's known his fashion imag...
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1980s European Modern Vintage Cecil Beaton

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Cecil Beaton, War Photographs 1939-1945
Cecil Beaton, War Photographs 1939-1945
H 11.82 in W 9.85 in D 0.91 in
Cecil Beaton’s New York First Edition Book
By Cecil Beaton
Located in Stamford, CT
Cecil Beaton’s New York hardcover first edition. Book retains dust jacket. Hardcover is taxi cab yellow. Dust jacket has been wrapped in Mylar.
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1930s British Hollywood Regency Vintage Cecil Beaton

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Cecil Beaton Photography First Edition Book
By Cecil Beaton
Located in Stamford, CT
Cecil Beaton photography hardcover book first edition 1951. Includes dust jacket. Dust jacket has been wrapped in Mylar.
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1950s American Hollywood Regency Vintage Cecil Beaton

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Cecil Beaton, The Face of The World
By Cecil Beaton
Located in New York, NY
Cecil Beaton, The Face of The World. Beaton's midcentury photographic essay book in good vintage condition with laminated dust jacket. United States, 1957. Dimensions: 8.75" W x 11...
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Mid-20th Century North American Cecil Beaton

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Cecil Beaton, The Face of The World
Cecil Beaton, The Face of The World
H 11.25 in W 8.75 in D 1 in
Beaton in the Sixties, the Cecil Beaton Diaries as He Wrote Them 1965-1969
By Cecil Beaton
Located in valatie, NY
Beaton in the Sixties, The Cecil Beaton Diaries As He Wrote Them 1965-1969. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2003. Stated first American edition hardcover with dust jacket. 522 pp. A book on the diaries of Cecil Beaton which were written in the sixties at the height of his career. He was photographing the Queen, doing fashion shoots for British Vogue, having lunch with Noël Coward and dinner with Cyril Connoly. He was in Morocco with the Rolling Stones, he attended Truman Capote's Black-and-White ball and had tea and caviar with Jacqueline Onassis...
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21st Century and Contemporary American Cecil Beaton

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"Cecil Beaton – A Retrospective" Book - 1986
By Cecil Beaton
Located in London, GB
First edition. Published in Boston by Little, Brown and Company, in 1986. This retrospective monograph brings together numerous photographs from the five exceptional decades of...
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1980s British Vintage Cecil Beaton

Cecil Beaton Book, "Japanese" - 1959
By Cecil Beaton
Located in London, GB
First edition, published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1959. A collection of photographs taken by Cecil Beaton while in Japan on white satin pages, with ...
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Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Cecil Beaton

Cecil Beaton Book, "Japanese" - 1959
Cecil Beaton Book, "Japanese" - 1959
H 11.42 in W 8.86 in D 0.4 in
Cecil Beaton, Design for Dancer "La Dame Aux Camélias, " Signed and Dated
By Cecil Beaton
Located in New York, NY
This fashion illustration in watercolor and graphite on paper by Sir Cecil Beaton (1904-1980), depicts a costume design for a ballerina dancer of 'The Lady of the Camellias'. Marking...
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1940s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Cecil Beaton

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Cecil Beaton furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Cecil Beaton furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of paper and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Cecil Beaton furniture, although gray editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original furniture by Cecil Beaton were created in the mid-century modern style in europe during the 20th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Steve Schapiro, Mario Buatta, and Stan Galli. Prices for Cecil Beaton furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $150 and can go as high as $6,800, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $1,000.
Questions About Cecil Beaton
  • 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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