Identity area
Reference code
Beaton/A/A2/14a/102
Unique identifier
Title
Date(s)
- 16 Apr. 1951 (Circa. Letter dated 'April 16th'.) (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
Apologises for delay in writing because he couldn't settle down to write in Spain. Wishes he knew where Garbo was in her backyard, the desert, or the H. H. Explains why he did not enjoy his holiday in Spain and Paris. Complains that he has caught a cold. Reports that the weather has been very bad in the English countryside and the latest sunshine is as 'sensational as the sacking of McArthur'. Announces that his play is to be put on in Brighton on July 16th and possibly in London in August. Hopes Garbo will visit him at Reddish in September. Mentions that he is writing a short story about Greyhound ladies in Spain, reading a novel by Nancy Mitford, and sorting his photographs from his Spanish trip. Annoyed by the child of a neighbour who visited. Wishes to work less and spend more time with Garbo.