Cecil Beaton: War Photographs, 1939-45

by Cecil Beaton

Illustrated with 160 b&w photographs. Notes on the photographs, The Photographs Division of the Ministry of Information, The Collections, Books by Cecil Beaton about the War Years.

Genres: Photography

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1981

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

[Kristi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was disappointed by this book of Cecil Beaton's photography from World War II. Beaton was hired by the Ministry of Information to create pictures for publication and to provide the military with information about the foreign cultures in which the soldiers were fighting. I liked some of the photos of the London blitz and its impact upon children and the architecture of London. Beaton was then sent to North Africa, the Mideast, India, and Burma. Since his task was to show indigenous people, Beaton failed miserably. He was sent back to India to film what was desired by the MIO since he had been far more interested in photographing the representatives of the British Raj in their finery than poor Indians. It seemed more like he thought he was on assignment for Vogue. Beaton was not a combat photographer. He was well away from the front lines and bemoaned the fact that he was living in poor conditions when he was not staying in the luxury of the ruling aristocracy of Britain imperialists. A few of the photos of individuals like Churchill, De Gaulle, and Eisenhower are OK, but certainly no better than many others. I hoped to see new WWII photos of the theatres of war, not artsy fartsy photos of broken tanks and planes. If you are interested in photography of WWII action, choose another book. Kristi & Abby Tabby