Past, Present Future: Sir Cecil Beaton

“Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.”

He continued to be highly celebrated in the 1960s and 70s for his professional works and for his public persona, with exhibitions held at London’s National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum. His lifetime of dedicated contributions to photography and the arts were acknowledged in 1972 when he received a knighthood, becoming Sir Cecil Beaton. By this time, he had photographed everyone from Picasso to Keith Richards, Winston Churchill to Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, Fred Astaire to Andy Warhol, the list goes on.

Sir Cecil Beaton leaves behind a lasting legacy of iconic photography and a significant artistic portfolio of sketches, writing, painting and designs. His impressive lifework is an inspiration to creatives the world over, a true celebration of dramatic splendour and charm.