The Feed.

The Art of Scrapbook

Cecil Beaton’s incredible collection of timeless inspirations.

Text: HELEN PAPAIOANNOU

What is the art of the scrapbook? And what does it reveal for the creative mind behind its make? We all have, from time to time, collected tickets, photos and pieces of fabric, with the aim of creating a memory book, a mind map and a vivid reminder of our experiences, train of thought or work. Only a few, however, can turn this endeavor into art.

Cecil Beaton, one of the most influential photographers of all time, helped invent the cult of the celebrity image while pushing the boundaries of his art form with innovative techniques and staging. Working for both Vogue and Vanity Fair, as well as being a British war correspondent, Beaton loved doing what he did, which was to document lives both famous and simple—including his own, in dozens of scrapbooks now held by Sotheby’s London.

Composed of his own prints and of clippings from magazines, newspapers, and playbills, these pages, seen now for the first time, are an instructive record of his creative process, a vibrant image of his vision. His famous eye alighted on society figures, royals, dancers, actors, statesmen, and natives in ceremonial garb, picking out visual rhymes and witty juxtapositions. Flip through the pages of Assouline’s publication Cecil Beaton, the art of the scrapbook, is to enter a fabulous and surreal party where Tallulah Bankhead rubs shoulders with a bust of Voltaire and a portrait of Stravinsky; where Beaton’s first trip on the Queen Mary coincides with Queen Elizabeth’s coronation.

Study them as you would the mood board of a creative genious that loved to play with imagery and the imaginary…

CECIL BEATON 

Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton (January 14, 1904 – January 18, 1980), best known for his fashion photographs and society portraits, was an English fashion and portrait photographer. Educated at Harrow and St. John’s College, Cambridge, in 1925 he set up his own successful photography studio. He worked as a staff photographer for Vanity Fair and Vogue in addition to photographing celebrities in Hollywood. He also worked as a stage and film designer, including the musicals Gigi (1958) and My Fair Lady (1965). When he returned to London, he was honored as the official photographer to the Royal Family. During the Second World War, he worked for the British Ministry of Information, as a documentary photographer.

eu.Assouline.com

The Feed.

The Art of Scrapbook

Cecil Beaton’s incredible collection of timeless inspirations.

Text: HELEN PAPAIOANNOU

What is the art of the scrapbook? And what does it reveal for the creative mind behind its make? We all have, from time to time, collected tickets, photos and pieces of fabric, with the aim of creating a memory book, a mind map and a vivid reminder of our experiences, train of thought or work. Only a few, however, can turn this endeavor into art.

Cecil Beaton, one of the most influential photographers of all time, helped invent the cult of the celebrity image while pushing the boundaries of his art form with innovative techniques and staging. Working for both Vogue and Vanity Fair, as well as being a British war correspondent, Beaton loved doing what he did, which was to document lives both famous and simple—including his own, in dozens of scrapbooks now held by Sotheby’s London.

Composed of his own prints and of clippings from magazines, newspapers, and playbills, these pages, seen now for the first time, are an instructive record of his creative process, a vibrant image of his vision. His famous eye alighted on society figures, royals, dancers, actors, statesmen, and natives in ceremonial garb, picking out visual rhymes and witty juxtapositions. Flip through the pages of Assouline’s publication Cecil Beaton, the art of the scrapbook, is to enter a fabulous and surreal party where Tallulah Bankhead rubs shoulders with a bust of Voltaire and a portrait of Stravinsky; where Beaton’s first trip on the Queen Mary coincides with Queen Elizabeth’s coronation.

Study them as you would the mood board of a creative genious that loved to play with imagery and the imaginary…

CECIL BEATON 

Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton (January 14, 1904 – January 18, 1980), best known for his fashion photographs and society portraits, was an English fashion and portrait photographer. Educated at Harrow and St. John’s College, Cambridge, in 1925 he set up his own successful photography studio. He worked as a staff photographer for Vanity Fair and Vogue in addition to photographing celebrities in Hollywood. He also worked as a stage and film designer, including the musicals Gigi (1958) and My Fair Lady (1965). When he returned to London, he was honored as the official photographer to the Royal Family. During the Second World War, he worked for the British Ministry of Information, as a documentary photographer.

eu.Assouline.com

The Feed.

The Art of Scrapbook

Cecil Beaton’s incredible collection of timeless inspirations.

Text: HELEN PAPAIOANNOU

What is the art of the scrapbook? And what does it reveal for the creative mind behind its make? We all have, from time to time, collected tickets, photos and pieces of fabric, with the aim of creating a memory book, a mind map and a vivid reminder of our experiences, train of thought or work. Only a few, however, can turn this endeavor into art.

Cecil Beaton, one of the most influential photographers of all time, helped invent the cult of the celebrity image while pushing the boundaries of his art form with innovative techniques and staging. Working for both Vogue and Vanity Fair, as well as being a British war correspondent, Beaton loved doing what he did, which was to document lives both famous and simple—including his own, in dozens of scrapbooks now held by Sotheby’s London.

Composed of his own prints and of clippings from magazines, newspapers, and playbills, these pages, seen now for the first time, are an instructive record of his creative process, a vibrant image of his vision. His famous eye alighted on society figures, royals, dancers, actors, statesmen, and natives in ceremonial garb, picking out visual rhymes and witty juxtapositions. Flip through the pages of Assouline’s publication Cecil Beaton, the art of the scrapbook, is to enter a fabulous and surreal party where Tallulah Bankhead rubs shoulders with a bust of Voltaire and a portrait of Stravinsky; where Beaton’s first trip on the Queen Mary coincides with Queen Elizabeth’s coronation.

Study them as you would the mood board of a creative genious that loved to play with imagery and the imaginary…

CECIL BEATON 

Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton (January 14, 1904 – January 18, 1980), best known for his fashion photographs and society portraits, was an English fashion and portrait photographer. Educated at Harrow and St. John’s College, Cambridge, in 1925 he set up his own successful photography studio. He worked as a staff photographer for Vanity Fair and Vogue in addition to photographing celebrities in Hollywood. He also worked as a stage and film designer, including the musicals Gigi (1958) and My Fair Lady (1965). When he returned to London, he was honored as the official photographer to the Royal Family. During the Second World War, he worked for the British Ministry of Information, as a documentary photographer.

eu.Assouline.com