Audrey Hepburn. © Cecil Beaton Archive, Sotheby's London / Collection National Portrait Gallery, London
Cecil Beaton: Portraits, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, until August 31 2009
A stunning collection of portraits by one of the most iconic photographers of the 20th century has come to the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.
Cecil Beaton's sitters included Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Onassis and the Queen and visitors to the gallery are treated to a fascinating star-studded chronology of the legendary photographer's work.
Marilyn Monroe. © Cecil Beaton Archive, Sotheby's London / Collection National Portrait Gallery, London
Cecil Beaton: Portraits features nearly 50 of his most famous photographs from 1920s Hollywood to 1970s rock musicians. Although not regarded as a 'technical photographer' Beaton had a real talent for capturing the personalities of his sitters. And even though his work spans six decades, his photographs have a timeless quality that makes them popular with contemporary audiences.
Queen Elizabeth & Prince Charles. © V&A Images / Collection National Portrait Gallery, London
Beaton was fascinated with Hollywood stars, and there is no doubt that his portraits of celebrities helped to establish him as a household name. His wide portfolio of other work, however, remains relatively unknown.
He was regularly commissioned by the Royal Family, creating a series of shots of the Queen Mother, intimate portraits of a young Queen, and even photographed the wedding of the then Prince of Wales and Wallis Simpson.
Lucien Freud. © Cecil Beaton Archive, Sothebys London / Collection National Portrait Gallery, London
During the 1940s he became an official war photographer and he focused on capturing the horrors of World War II and it was reported his image of a young Blitz victim, which was plastered in newspapers worldwide, helped persuade the USA to join the War effort.
He also photographed artists such as Lucien Freud and Francis Bacon, who was a good friend, and in his later years he pointed his lens at socialites and fashion designers. He also holds an Oscar for his costume work in My Fair Lady.
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