Cecil Beaton

@Photographers, Family and Childhood ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Cecil Beaton was a celebrated English photographer who had won an Academy Award for his stage and costume designs British Photographers Capricorn Celebrities Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton was an English photographer best known for his portraits of celebrities captured in avant-garde settings. A famous characteristic of his work was that he would go to any lengths to capture a particular look—subjects were made to lie down, climb trees, perch upon a ladder or simply wear a poker face in order for him to take innovative photographs. His fascination with photography began when he used to look at pictures of society women and celebrities in magazines as a young boy. He received his first camera when he was 11 and thus began his long term love affair with images and photography. His two younger sisters became his first models and they readily humored their brother by posing for him in imaginative costumes. He had no interest in academics and though he went to college for sometime he dropped out before graduation. He started working for the British edition of ‘Vogue’ where he became famous for his fashion photographs and society portraits. During the Second World War, he became the country’s leading war photographer and captured the horrors of the war in poignant details in his photographs. He also worked as a stage and costume designer for which he won an Academy Award.

Personal Details

Birthday: January 14, 1904 Died on: January 18, 1980 Nationality: British Famous: Photographers Siblings: Barbara, Nancy, Reginald Known as: Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton Universities: Heath Mount School St Cyprian's School Eastbourne St John's College Cambridge Information Detail Birthday January 14, 1904 Died on January 18, 1980 Nationality British Famous Photographers Siblings Barbara, Nancy, Reginald Known as Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton Universities Heath Mount School St Cyprian's School Eastbourne St John's College Cambridge Birth Place Hampstead, London, England Gender Male Father Ernest Walter Hardy Beaton (1867–1936) Mother Etty Sissons (1872–1962) Sun Sign Capricorn Born in Hampstead, London, England Famous as Photographer Died at Age 76

Hampstead, London, England

Cecil Beaton born at Unsplash Birth Place

He had been in relationships with several men and women including swordsman Kin Hoitsma, actresses Greta Garbo and Coral Browne. For years he was obsessed with the art collector Peter Watson though the two men were never in a relationship. Unsplash Personal Life

He suffered a stroke in 1972 that left him completely paralyzed on the right side of his body. His health deteriorated over the next few years and he died in January 1980. Unsplash Personal Life

He was the eldest son of Ernest Walter Hardy Beaton and Etty Sissons. His father was a timber merchant with a well established business. Cecil had three younger siblings - one brother and two sisters. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

He attended Heath Mount School and St. Cyprian’s School. He was artistically very gifted and was a good painter and a singer. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

He received a camera for his eleventh birthday and developed a lifelong fascination with photography. He used to dress up his little sisters in elaborate costumes and take their pictures. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

He enrolled at St. John’s College, Cambridge, to study history, art, and architecture. He continued pursuing photography as a hobby. Realizing that he had no real interest in academia, he quit college in 1925. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

He joined his father’s timber business but found the work to be incredibly boring. He had an equally unsuccessful experience as an office worker with a cement manufacturer. Unsplash Career

He realized that his real passion was photography and held his first exhibition under the patronage of Osbert Sitwell in the Cooling gallery in London. The exhibition was a hit, and introduced the new talent to the world of photography. Unsplash Career

He went to New York in 1928. There he became acquainted with the editors of ‘Vogue’ and ‘Vanity fair’. Over the next few decades he would work for both the magazines and specialize in fashion photographs and society portraits. Unsplash Career

In 1930 he published a collection of his portraits called ‘The Book of Beauty’. Unsplash Career

He secured a 15-year lease on Ashcombe, a 18th century mansion where the society people got together on weekends for performing amateur plays. Unsplash Career

As a fashion and portrait photographer he was famous for clicking the pictures of high profiles celebrities like Greta Garbo and Queen Elizabeth. His war time photographs are said to be pivotal in convincing America to help Britain during the difficult war period. Unsplash Major Works

He was also a stage and costume designer for Broadway plays and films, a work which earned him much acclaim and several prestigious awards. Unsplash Major Works

Information	Detail
Birthday	January 14, 1904
Died on	January 18, 1980
Nationality	British
Famous	Photographers
Siblings	Barbara, Nancy, Reginald
Known as	Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton
Universities	Heath Mount School St Cyprian's School Eastbourne St John's College Cambridge
Birth Place	Hampstead, London, England
Gender	Male
Father	Ernest Walter Hardy Beaton (1867–1936)
Mother	Etty Sissons (1872–1962)
Sun Sign	Capricorn
Born in	Hampstead, London, England
Famous as	Photographer
Died at Age	76

Cecil Beaton

British

Jan 14, 1904

Biography

Personal Details

Hampstead, London, England