ABSTRACT
Sir Cecil Beaton was a designer of costumes and scenery, a pho–tographer, interior designer, illustrator, author, playwright, dilettante actor, and arbiter of all things fashionable. At age thirty Beaton made his professional debut as a theatrical designer, with several scenes in the famed London producer C. B. Cochran’s 1934 revue, Streamline. During World War II, Beaton’s activities as an official military photographer assigned to various parts of the theaters of war did not prevent him from also continuing his work for London’s West End theaters. In 1941, Gabriel Pascal commissioned him to design the costumes for his film version of George Bernard Shaw’s Major Barbara. In 1973, Cecil Beaton was honored by Queen Elizabeth II with knighthood. It was a gratifying reward for his many years of creative successes and one that was richly deserved. Sadly, his life took a downturn that year, when he suffered a stroke.
