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.
Cecil Beaton - Watercolour Ballet Costume Design for Le Pavillon - 1936
By Cecil Beaton
Located in London, GB
SIR CECIL BEATON, CBE (1904-1980) Ballet Costume Design for Le Pavillon - 1936 Signed and bears wardrobe mark l.r.: Beaton Watercolour and ink on paper 49 by 39 cm., 19 ¼ by 15 ½ ...
Watercolor, Paper
$15,000
"My Fair Lady" 1958 West End Theatre Costume Drawing Mid 20th Century Modern
By Cecil Beaton
Located in New York, NY
"My Fair Lady" 1958 West End Theatre Costume Drawing Mid 20th Century Modern Cecil Beaton (1904 – 1980) "My Fair Lady," Pen and ink on paper...
Paper, Ink, Pen
'Design For A Fan' 1923 Pastel of Stage Set by Cecil Beaton
By Cecil Beaton
Located in Bristol, CT
'Design for Fan', Signed Cecil Beaton at age 19, (1904-1980) & dated 1923, Pastel Gouache on parchment paper Art Sz: 8 7/8"H x 11 7/8"W Frame Sz: 15 1/4"H x 18 1/4"W
Watercolor
!["Miss Parlow [as] The Blue Boy Act II Of Landscape w/ Figures" by Cecil Beaton](https://a.1stdibscdn.com/a_12601/1698158546008/Untitled_master.jpg?width=240)
!["Miss Parlow [as] The Blue Boy Act II Of Landscape w/ Figures" by Cecil Beaton](https://a.1stdibscdn.com/a_12601/a_133133721698158585159/Untitled_1_master.jpg?width=240)
$6,500
"Miss Parlow [as] The Blue Boy Act II Of Landscape w/ Figures" by Cecil Beaton
By Cecil Beaton
Located in Bristol, CT
Original Cecil Beaton (1904-1980) c1950 watercolour on paper 'The Blue Boy' Miss Paulow (UL) signed 'Beaton' (LR) Art Sz: 14 1/2"H x 11"W Frame Sz: 27"H x 22"W
Watercolor
$8,500
"Cecil Beaton Watercolour Theatrical Set Design for Landscape with Figures" 1951
By Cecil Beaton
Located in Bristol, CT
Original Cecil Beaton (signed LR) watercolour set design for the 2nd version of Beaton's play "The Gainsborough Girls" circa 1951 theatrical production entitled "Landscape with Figur...
Paper, Watercolor
$495
H 11.42 in W 14.57 in
Neapolitan School 19th Century Gouache - View of Naples and Mount Vesuvius
Located in Corsham, GB
A finely detailed gouache depicting a view of Naples with Mount Vesuvius in the distance and boats populating the foreground. Well presented in a vintage gilt frame. Unsigned. On pap...
Gouache
Street Scene with Women and a Beggar
By Chester Dixon Snowden 1
Located in Houston, TX
Watercolor painting of a street scene with two females and a man that appears to be a beggar. The work is signed by the artist. It is framed in a black frame with a yellow matte. Dim...
Watercolor
$120
H 5 in W 5 in D 1 in
My 80's Heart "Token 5" 2019, gouache, acrylic, graphite, panel, purple, green
By Catherine Hart
Located in Jersey City, NJ
My 80's Hart "Token 5" 2019, gouache, acrylic, graphite, panel, purple, green, blue
Acrylic, Gouache, Panel, Wood Panel, Graphite
Untitled #I
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork "Untitled #1" is a watercolor on paper by California abstract expressionist artist R. Anthony (Tony) Askew, b.1939. It is signed at the lower right corner by the artist....
Watercolor
$2,320
H 14.97 in W 13 in
"Masha's fairy tales" watercolor cm. 17 x 22 1970
By Marina Yevgenyevna Uspenskaya
Located in Torino, IT
Children, illustrations, tales Marina Evgenevna USPENSKAYA (Moscow, 1925 – 2007) Marina Evgenevna Uspenskaya was born in Moscow. She graduated from the 1905 Art College, where she ...
Paper, Watercolor
Gun from Clue
By A.J. Fries
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original mixed media drawing by American artist A.J. Fries.
Gouache, Graphite, Paper
$487
H 19.69 in W 13.78 in
Project for San Michele in Bosco, Bologna, Domenico Santi, 17th century
Located in Firenze, IT
Project for San Michele in Bosco, Bologna, Domenico Santi, known as Il Mengazzino (attr.) Attributed to Domenico Santi, known as Il Mengazzino (Bologna, 1621–1694), this architectur...
Paper, Ink, Watercolor, Pen
$4,075
H 19 in W 24 in D 3 in
Thistledown - Finely Detailed 19th Century English Woodland Landscape Painting
Located in Gerrards Cross, GB
‘Thistledown’ by Benjamin Haughton (1865-1924). Signed by the artist and dated 1897, the painting is newly professionally conserved and presented i...
Watercolor
The Dethroning / Italian School, 18th Century
Located in Middletown, NY
Graphite and grayish ink wash on bluish wove paper, 7 x 10 1/2 inches (177 x 265 mm) (matrix). Scattered surface soiling, adhesive residue, dog-eared corners, and scattered edge tears along left margin, outside of image area. Paper is braced on the verso with two pages from a mid 19th century book with illustrations by C.Perrin. One image depicts a scene of a group of soldiers representing the Holy Roman Empire...
Ink, Handmade Paper, Graphite
$460
H 8.5 in W 6.75 in D 2 in
"OUTSKIRTS" WATERCOLOR TEXAS ARTIST JOSEPHINE MAHAFFEY (1903-1982)
By Josephine Mahaffey
Located in San Antonio, TX
Josephine Mahaffey (1903-1982) Texas Image Size: 8.5 x 6.75 Frame Size: 13 x 11 Medium: Watercolor "Outskirts" Biography Josephine Mahaffey (1903-1982) In 1968, she was honored at th...
Watercolor
$1,856
H 8.27 in W 12.21 in
Studies of Goat Heads and Figures, Cairo (c. 1871)
By Egron Sellif Lundgren
Located in Stockholm, SE
Here Lundgren concentrates on individual studies of goats, especially their heads and expressions. In one sketch, a goat faces forward, its distinctive long ears and gentle features ...
Paper, Watercolor
The Prince's Room
By Willy Pogany
Located in Buffalo, NY
Born in Szeged, Hungary, he became one of the better known and successful illustrators of the Golden Age of Illustration, completing over 100 books. Among them are "A Treasury of Verse for Little Children," "The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam," and "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." He is probably best known for pen and ink drawings of mythology subjects geared towards children. He studied at Budapest Technical University and attended art schools in Munich and Paris before moving to London at age 23. In 1907, he began illustrating children's books and did a series of annual gift books...
Gouache, Graphite, Pen, Watercolor
Sold
H 8.47 in W 7.09 in
Cecil Beaton - 20th Century Portrait Drawing of a girl with ringlets
By Cecil Beaton
Located in London, GB
SIR CECIL BEATON, CBE (1904-1980) Regency Girl with Ringlets Pencil Unframed, in mount only 21.5 by 18 cm., 8 ½ by 7 in. (mount size 33.5 by 30 cm., 1...
Pencil
Sold
H 13.19 in W 10.44 in
British Costume Design for a Girl Holding Flowers by Sir Cecil Beaton
By Cecil Beaton
Located in London, GB
SIR CECIL BEATON, CBE (1904-1980) Costume Design for Girl Holding Flowers Inscribed l.l.: Alternative suggestion for/1st Dress in Act I Green in...
Ink
Sold
H 15 in W 18 in
Cecil Beaton Original Pencil Sketch of 'Table and Mirror' in Reddish House
By Cecil Beaton
Located in Bristol, CT
Table and Mirror, pencil on paper, signed 'Beaton' upper left, Inscribed 'Table and Mirror in drawing room- Reddish' lower centre. 11 x 8 in. (sight), 17-1/2 x 14-1/2 in. (frame)
Pencil
Sold
H 22 in W 15 in
Cecil Beaton c1958 Watercolour of Maurice Chevalier & Leslie Caron in Gigi
By Cecil Beaton
Located in Bristol, CT
Watercolour and gouache on paper, Signed 'Beaton' lower right 15 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. (sight), 22 x 15 in. (frame)
Watercolor
"Portrait of The Socialite Jill" by Cecil Beaton
By Cecil Beaton
Located in Bristol, CT
Provenance: Palm Beach Galleries #336 Worth Avenue on verso label together with: Signed 'To Jill with Best Wishes from Cecil Beaton 1968'!~ Art: 13" x 17" Frame: 21 3/4" x 25 3/4" ...
Watercolor