Cecil Beaton

Photography Centre, Rooms 99 – 101

Plan a visit

Perhaps the world's second worst crime is boredom. The first is being a bore.

Cecil Beaton

The V&A holds the archive of royal portraits by renowned fashion photographer Sir Cecil Beaton (1904 – 80), who became court photographer to the British Royal Family in 1937, and continued to photograph them for the next three generations, including taking the official portraits for Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation in 1953.

Read more
See less
Beaton bequeathed his archive of royal portraits to his devoted secretary Eileen Hose. In 1987 she, in turn, bequeathed the archive to the V&A. To celebrate the Queen's diamond jubilee in 2012, the Museum mounted the exhibition 'Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton', featuring portraits of Her Majesty in her roles as princess, monarch and mother. Our collection also holds some of his costume and stage designs for productions such as My Fair Lady (1956) and Gigi (1958), as well as the Cecil Beaton Collection of fashion, which was exhibited at the Museum in 1971 as 'Fashion: An Anthology by Cecil Beaton'.

Collection Highlights

photograph
Princess Alexandra and the Honourable Angus Oglivy, gelatin silver print, by Cecil Beaton, 1963, England
photograph
Princess Marie Louise, photograph, by Cecil Beaton, 1939, Buckingham Palace
photograph
Queen Elizabeth, photograph, by Cecil Beaton, 1939, Buckingham Palace
photograph
Schiaparelli evening dresses, photograph, by Cecil Beaton, commissioned by French Vogue, 1936, France
photograph
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, photograph, by Cecil Beaton, 1939, Paris, France.
photograph
Queen Elizabeth II, photograph, by Cecil Beaton, 1968, Buckingham Palace, England
photograph
Katharine Worsley, Duchess of Kent on her wedding day, photograph, by Cecil Beaton, 1961, Hovingham Hall, England
H.R.H. Princess Margaret, photograph by Cecil Beaton, 1951, Englsnd. Museum no. CBX 1001-12. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
photograph
Queen Elizabeth II, photograph, C-type print, by Cecil Beaton, 1953, London, England
Search collections

Features

Shop

Find inspiration in our incredible range of exclusive gifts, jewellery, books, fashion, prints & posters and much more...

Explore the range
Background image: Queen Elizabeth II, photograph by Cecil Beaton, 1953, England. Museum no. PH.311-1987. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London