Item 17 - Letter to Lincoln Kirstein

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Beaton/F/17

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GB 275 Beaton/F/17

Title

Letter to Lincoln Kirstein

Date(s)

  • 6 October 1953 (Creation)

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1p paper

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(1904-1980)

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.

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Typescript letter to the American writer, philanthropist and co-founder of the New York City Ballet, Lincoln Kirstein (1907-1996), in which Beaton writes that the offer Kirstein proposed in his previous letter sounds fascinating. He plans to come to America after Christmas to begin a lecture tour in January and may have spaces in between lectures to come to New York. Beaton does not think that he could offer to go to New York especially for this job, given how costly accomodation and other expenses would be. However, he would like time to think over the problem, as it sounds a delightful job and this is only his first reaction. He is presently on his way to the Slade School of Fine Art, where he is trying to learn to paint with oils in a different style than he was taught at school.

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