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Cecil Beaton

Portraits

May 13 - July 26, 2015

One of the most significant and multi-faceted photographers of the 20th century, Cecil Beaton’s (1904-1980) captivating portraits were exhibited for the first time in Turkey at Pera Museum.

The exhibition focusing on Oscar winning costume designer Cecil Beaton was curated by Terence Pepper, the Senior Advisor on Photographs at the National Portrait Gallery in London, and included portraits of artists, actors, writers, intellectuals and royalty from between 1920s to the 1970s, from the collection of Sotheby’s Cecil Beaton Studio Archive.

Cecil Beaton worked in a variety of media ranging from painting, illustration, caricature, theatre and film costume design (winning two Oscars for the latter category for ‘Gigi’ and ‘My Fair Lady’), as well as being a best-selling author, photographic historian, diarist, and occasional actor. However it is as a photographer that most critics agree that he made his most important contribution to the arts.

Beaton’s photographs define a glittering generation, as he captured from behind his camera lens the great and famous personalities of the 1920s to the 1970s - from eminent artists, to iconic actors, influential philosophers, and international royalty. These intimate portraits tell the story behind the public veneer of the sitter, illuminating their private lives and relationships with Beaton himself.

 

 in collaboration

gallery wall paint sponsor

Exhibition Catalogue

Cecil Beaton

Cecil Beaton

Realized in collaboration with the Pera Museum and The Cecil Beaton Studio Archive at Sotheby’s the exhibition Cecil Beaton: Portraits included portraits of artists, movie stars, writers,...

‘Cecil Beaton: Portraits’ with Merih Akoğul

‘Cecil Beaton: Portraits’ with Merih Akoğul

Video

The Vanity of Small Differences

The Vanity of Small Differences

The Vanity of Small Differences is a series of six large scale tapestries, completed in 2012, which explore British fascination with taste and class, and can be seen in the Grayson Perry: Small Differences exhibition. 

The First Nudes

The First Nudes

Men were the first nudes in Turkish painting. The majority of these paintings were academic studies executed in oil paint; they were part of the education of artists that had finally attained the opportunity to work from the live model. The gender of the models constituted an obstacle in the way of characterizing these paintings as ‘nudes’. 

Giorgio de Chirico

Giorgio de Chirico

Giorgio de Chirico was born on July 10, 1888, in Volos, Greece, to an Italian family. His mother, Gemma Cervetto, was from a family of Genoa origin, but most likely she was born in Izmir. His father, Evaristo, was born on June 21, 1841 in the Büyükdere district of Istanbul.