Self-Portrait With Friends: The Selected Diaries of Cecil Beaton, 1926-1974

by Cecil Beaton, Richard Buckle (Editor)

Noted British photographer Cecil Beaton provides insights into his own life and the personalities of the performers, aristocrats, artists, and other famous people he has encountered during his career.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography

435 pages, Hardcover

Published April 1, 1982

About the author

People noted sets and costumes of British photographer, diarist, and theatrical designer Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton for My Fair Lady on stage in 1956 and on film in 1964.

Cecil Beaton first styled his sisters decadently. His unique flair for elegance and fantasy led him to the most successful and influential portrait and fashion of the 20th century. From Adolf de Meyer, baron, and Edward Jean Steichen as sources of inspiration, he nevertheless developed all his own style. He worked for Vogue for more than a quarter-century and also as court official to the royal family in 1937. A constant innovator, Beaton worked for five decades to captivate some figures of his time from Edith Sitwell to the Rolling Stones, Greta Garbo, Jean Cocteau, and Marilyn Monroe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_B...

Reviews

[Alayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at a long gone era. I would have preferred more of his photographs, but enjoyed it all the same.

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beaton had published his diaries expurgated: The Wandering Years, The Years Between, The Happy Years, The Strenuous Years, the Restless Years and the Parting Years. In 1979 Richard Buckle edited with Cecil excerpts of those diaries into this very interesting name dropping word salad. As I just finished Malice In Wonderland and plan to start Hugo Vickers 1985 biography of Cecil before launching into the two very thick compilations of his original manuscript diaries unexpurgated by Hugo Vickers in the 1990s... I am also watching a lot of videos on Cecil and his friends and started collecting his photographs on Pinterest.