In 1944, in one of its more inspired moments, the British Ministry of Information dispatched Cecil Beaton-- self-dramatizing exquisite, darling of London society, chosen photographer to royalty, and later the world-famous designer of My Fair Lady and Gigi--to the Far East to take pictures of the British Empire and its allies at war. The result was not only a superb collection of photographs but a breathtakingly vivid written portrait of India, Burma, and China at a historic turning-point in their histories. These volumes integrate both elements fully for the first time, offering the complete text of Beaton's narrative and a truly comprehensive selection of over 200 photographs. Beaton was a great observer and, perhaps unexpectedly, a great describer. In remarkably few words, he can make you see, hear, smell, almost touch the dusty Burmese countryside, the shimmering, casual magnificence of a Bombay virtually untouched by war, or the rain-sodden, flea-bitten front lines in a China nearly destroyed by it. He was an acute observer of people, too, and these books offer revealing glimpses of representative wartime figures from Madame Sun Yat-sen and General Claire Chennault to anonymous British soldiers and Chinese peasants. There is mayhem, including an electrifying description of what it's like to live through a plane crash, and mordant social comedy that rivals (and explains much of) The Jewel in the Crown. Perhaps best of all are Beaton's accounts of the two great invariants of modern war--waiting for transport and enduring it--in all their exquisite variety. A magnificent record of some of Beaton's most austere and disciplined photography and a welcome reminder of his almost forgotten literary gifts, these books offer a uniquely real picture of one of the most heroic episodes of recent history.

Indian Diary and Album

Arts & Photography

BEATON, Cecil

Photography & Video

Oxford University Press

Chinese Diary and Album

The definitive edition of Cecil Beaton's war photography, drawing on a wealth of material and accompanied by his own diary entries At the beginning of World War II Cecil Beaton was commissioned by the British government to photograph the home front. He set to work recording both the destruction of the city and the heroism of Londoners under attack. He conducted a survey of Bomber and Fighter Commands for the RAF, which was published with his own astute commentary. Beaton was an effective propagandist, but his voice, like his photographs, was touchingly elegant. Beaton's wartime work amounted to 7,000 photographs. He traveled through the Western Desert and on to Iraq, Palestine, Transjordan, Syria, and India, where he photographed the final days of the Raj in New Delhi and Calcutta before joining the Burma campaign. He ended the war deep in Chinese territory where he witnessed the Nationalist resistance to the Japanese. This collection of Beaton's masterful WWII photography captures the home front, the Middle East, arms and vehicle manufacturing in Britain, India, the Burma Campaign, and the war in China. It also includes a chronology placing events in Beaton's life alongside developments in photography, journalism, and the arts; war photography; and world events. His original photographs are reproduced large on the page, alongside his diary extracts, allowing for deep scrutiny and appreciation of the images and their artist.

Cecil Beaton: Theatre of War

Individual Artists

JONATHAN CAPE.

The definitive collection of Cecil Beaton's war photography, drawing on a wealth of material and accompanied by his own diary entries At the beginning of World War II Cecil Beaton was commissioned by the British government to photograph the home front. He set to work recording both the destruction of the city, and the heroism of Londoners under attack. He conducted a survey of Bomber and Fighter Commands for the RAF, which was published with his own astute commentary. Beaton was an effective propagandist, but his voice, like his photographs, was touchingly elegant. Beaton's wartime work amounted to 7,000 photographs. He traveled through the Western Desert and on to Iraq, Palestine, Transjordan, Syria, and India, where he photographed the final days of the Raj in New Delhi and Calcutta before joining the Burma campaign. He ended the war deep in Chinese territory where he witnessed the Nationalist resistance to the Japanese. This collection of Beaton's masterful WWII photography captures the home front, the Middle East, arms and vehicle manufacturing in Britain, India, the Burma Campaign, and the war in China. It also includes a chronology placing events in Beaton's life alongside developments in photography, journalism, and the arts; war photography; and world events. His original photographs are reproduced large on the page, alongside his diary extracts, allowing for deep scrutiny and appreciation of the images and their artist.

Cecil Beaton: Theatre of War (Imperial War Museum, London: Exhibition Catalogues)

Cecil Beaton Photographs /anglais

RANDOM HOUSE UK

My Bolivian aunt: A memoir

Weidenfeld &Nicholson

The Strenuous Years: Diaries, 1948-55 (Cecil Beaton's Diaries)

The strenuous years, diaries 1948-55

Littlehampton Book Services Ltd.

Self portrait with friends: The selected diaries of Cecil Beaton, 1926-1974

Weidenfeld&Nicolson

The happy years;: Diaries 1944-48

Wiedenfeld & Nicolson

Cecil Beaton: The Royal Portraits looks back in time to tell a very modern tale: the creation of a public image. Offering a fresh appraisal of Beaton's portraits of the British royal family, the book explores not only the finished images but also the sittings in which they were created, revealing Beaton's central role in shaping the public face of the House of Windsor and the ways in which he collaborated with his subjects. Organized chronologically, from the 1930s to the 1970s, each of the book's four chapters comprises an introductory essay, plates with extended captions, and one or two in-depth analyses of a particular sitting. Throughout, a variety of contextual material--contact sheets, test shots, outtakes, sketches, letters, journals, tear sheets--helps build a detailed picture of Beaton's methods, the relationships he developed with his sitters, and how the portraits were received. Drawing on the Victoria and Albert Museum's unparalleled collection of Beaton's photographs, this volume will appeal not only to those interested in the photographer and his work, but also to anyone for whom the distinction between the private world and the public face of the royal family remains a source of fascination.

Cecil Beaton: The Royal Portraits

Williams, Claudia Acott

Thames&Hudson

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