Previously unseen photographs of how British society partied in the 1920s, snapped by acclaimed Vogue and Vanity Fair photographer Cecil Beaton, are going on show two hours outside of London.
Held by Sotheby’s and Wilton House, and designed and curated by Jasper Conran, “Bright Young Things, Costume Balls and Country House Parties: From the Roaring 20s to the Swinging 60s” will contain black-and-white prints from Sotheby’s Cecil Beaton Studio Archive, providing a fascinating glimpse into a charmed age where Beaton and his posh friends frequently let the good times roll, capturing the spirit of country house parties and costume balls in Britain.
Running from April 18-21 and May 3 to September 13, the exhibition pays tribute to Beaton, who was best known for his iconic fashion portraits of celebrities like Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe, but also renowned for his flair for fancy dress and costumery, his Academy and Tony awards for his designs, as well as the lavish, fantastical parties he threw at Ashcombe, his Wiltshire home.
As fancy dress became the de rigeur dress code of country house parties, Beaton was able to integrate his high-society personal life with his professional one, persuading his aristocratic friends to pose for him in their exotic costumes, often designed by him, for photographs set against Britain’s grandest country houses, such as the one of Edith Olivier, then Mayor of Wilton, as Queen Elizabeth I for a pageant in 1932 (pictured below).
Wilton House, in particular, was the perfect setting for many of these pictures, being the host of the first ball Beaton attended in 1927. He has described the surroundings of the house, situated just a few miles from his own, as “perhaps the most wonderful piece in all Wiltshire’s heritage of domestic architecture… at every time of year, in all weathers, unfailing in its beauty,” and illustrated the thought well with images like the 15th Earl and Countess of Pembroke at the coronation of George VI in 1937 (pictured below).
“Lady Pembroke, the Trustees [of the House] and I are delighted that we are able to hold this exhibition. There is a strong family connection with Cecil Beaton and although I was too young to remember him, my mother and older sisters certainly have very fond memories of him here at Wilton,” said William Pembroke, the 18th Earl of Pembroke, in a statement.
“The images that have been chosen are fascinating both as social history and also for their technical brilliance. Beaton was a genius when it came to studio photography, but he also excelled at capturing spontaneous shots of pure joy,” he added.
