Identity area
Reference code
Beaton/A/A2/14a/50
Unique identifier
Title
Date(s)
- 14 Mar. 1949 (Circa. Letter dated 'Monday March 14th'.) (Creation)
Level of description
Item
Extent and medium
3 p. paper
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Photographer, artist, writer, and designer of scenery and costumes. Educated at Harrow and St John's College, Cambridge, 1922-5. Made his name as a photographer through portraits of the Sitwells. Employed by Vogue in London and New York. Published 'The Book of Beauty' (1930). Photographed the Duke of Windsor's wedding, 1937. War photographer, 1939-45. Designed 'Lady Windermere's Fan', 1945. Designed costumes for 'An Ideal Husband' and 'Anna Karenina', 1948. Worked on 'The School for Scandal', 1949, 'Quadrille' for Noel Coward, 1952, 'Turandot', 1961, and 'La Traviata', 1966. Designed costumes for 'My Fair Lady', 1956, and for the film version in Hollywood, 1963. His play 'The Gainsborough Girls', 1951 and 1959, was unsuccessful. Published 'The Glass of Fashion' (1954), and six volumes of diaries. Exhibited photographs at the National Portrait Gallery, 1968. Knighted 1972.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Describes a walk with his dog, Suzie. Mentions that his sister, Baba, and her two daughters stayed at Reddish for the weekend. Sends news that Juliet Duff is still unwell. Writes that in London he went to two plays and overheard a conversation between two women who were making a living out of insurance fraud. Reports that David's friend tried to commit suicide at David's residence in Morocco, and David's parents ceiling fell down on top of David's father. Sends other miscellaneous news from England and looks forward to the day Garbo visits. Mentions that he had problems delivering the box of food from 'black and white'.