Without question, Cecil Beaton (1904 – 1980) was one of the 21st Century’s renaissance men. Not only was he a world-class shutterbug, he was a costume designer, playwright, and exquisite interior designer. Cecil Beaton At Home examines his exceptional talent as the latter, and gives fortuitous readers an exclusive insight into his grandiose homes and idyllic life in Britain’s countryside.
Throughout his distinguished career Beaton photographed the elite and elusive who reigned supreme during the Roaring Twenties and, equally lavish, Thirties. From Paris to New York, he met the likes of Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe and Andy Warhol the creative experienced the extreme highs and lows of Hollywood romance, supreme wealth, and luxury, before turning a critical eye on the Second World War; an event that would forever alter his previously frivolous, albeit splendid, photography.
Cecil Beaton At Home is a sneak peek into two of Beaton’s extravagant country homes: Ashcombe House, a Grade II structure that was first visited by Beaton in 1930; and Reddish House, located in a nearby village in the same county – Wiltshire. The former was reportedly leased to Beaton for the modest sum of AED 240 per year, on the condition that he would make improvements to the structure, which was all but derelict.
Houseguests would later include the likes of Lady Diana Cooper, Ruth Ford and Salvador Dalí, who all added something different to Beaton’s passion for interior design and delight in village life. This beautifully illustrated visual biography brings together breathtaking original photographs of Beaton’s often-extravagant interiors, as well as his sublime artworks and most intimate possessions. For a man who lived such an international and face-paced existence, it’s astonishing to get such an insight into his more moderate and unassuming private life.
Words by: Annie Darling
