BEATON, Cecil
 
Drawing of a costume design; original drawing in pencil on paper, c. 1960.
 
Description
 
Original drawing in graphite pencil to paper. Smaller sketches present to verso of sheet, containing also an inscribed reference to Beaton’s beloved florist, Moyses Stevens.
Minimal handling marks to paper, otherwise bright and clean and excellent throughout.
Framed and glazed with UV resistant art glass.
Beaton's first love was the theatre, and from creating the sets for his photographs it was a small step into stage design. It began to take precedence over photography after the Second World War, when he created numerous costume and set designs for ballets, opera, plays and film productions. His designs were stylish, romantic and sumptuous and frequently set in the opulent Edwardian and pre-war period of his childhood, epitomized by his greatest stage success, My Fair Lady, in 1956. In 1963 he also won two Oscars for the film version for his costume designs and art direction, following his first Oscar for Gigi in 1958.
Sheet, 22.9x16.8cm; external, 43.4x33.5cm.