20th Century Icons by Cecil Beaton

This beautiful publication presents a selection of portraits by the famous photographer Cecil Beaton (1904-1980), who photographed leading figures of the 20th century, from Duke and Duchess of Windsor to Mick Jagger; movie stars such as Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor; political figures such as Kennedy and Churchill; fashion icons such as Christian Dior and Coco Chanel and famous artists such as Pablo Picasso, David Hockney and Georgia O’Keefe.

Cecil Beaton started his career as a photographer taking portraits of his rich and famous friends, and gained recognition with his first exhibition in London in 1926. He worked for Vogue, for which he made his first cover in July 1932 and where he would continue to work until the mid-1950s. He also collaborated with Harper’s Bazaar and Vanity Fair.

He made numerous portraits of Hollywood celebrities in the 1930s. In 1937, he was the official photographer of the British Royal Family. During the early 1950s he was in charge of photographing the magnificent party organized by the eccentric, Spanish-Mexican millionaire Carlos de Beistegui in his Venetian palace. Later, he gradually drifted from photography to set and clothes design for theatre and cinema.

This catalogue completes an exhibition included in PHotoESPAÑA 2018 that gathers together some of the most outstanding portraits by Cecil Beaton