Cecil Beaton’s Garden party
The Cutting Garden by Cecil Beaton © National Portrait Gallery, London
Cecil Beaton by Cecil Beaton, 1960s © Cecil Beaton Archive, Condé Nast
Come and join Cecil Beaton’s Garden party! Experienced through black and white photographs, we can still sense the joy of Stephen Tennant and Cecil Beatons Fete Gallant in the gardens of Wilsford. As you gaze at the images you can hear the shrieks of delight and silly insider jokes. Naive by comparison to the contemporary Bal du Transvestites at Magic City the images are infused with “queer delight”, sublimated into Eighteenth Century tableaus bathed in the dappled light of Tenants arcadian garden. A golden time, the wonder and joy was real and it radiates out from the shots…. And so it began, throughout Cecil Beaton's life there is a sense that he not only sought out Arcadia, but he also believed it existed, perhaps finally finding it at Reddish.
Cecil Beaton by Cecil Beaton Bromide print, 1930s © Cecil Beaton Archive, Condé Nast
Penny Tree at Reddish House by Cecil Beaton, British Vogue December 1970 © Cecil Beaton Archive, Condé Nast
Beaton discovered theatre as a small boy, at Cambridge he embraced it. Among the aristocratic “Bright Young Things”, Beaton found his tribe of choice and in return these dazzling young Aristocrats found a talented fun photographer who could take flattering shots and get them published. Beaton worked hard at play. These early moments were blissful and formative and later when Beaton obtained the lease on Ashcombe he would invite his friends stay. A country house weekend without grownups. Elegant society darlings were encouraged to dazzle and sparkle in the gardens at Ashcome. Languorous sunny days were fringed with sense of mild transgression, pushing things to the point where reality and fantasy blurred. Cecil Beaton never lost his ability to find this place he instantly related to the vibe of the sixties.
Royal Portrait of Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II), Buckingham Palace, Cecil Beaton, 1945 © Cecil Beaton; Victoria & Albert Museum
'Black Velvet, Black Braid', by Cecil Beaton at Reddish House for British Vogue, August 1950 © Cecil Beaton Archive, Condé Nast
Later working with Norman Hartnell and inspired by Watteau, Cecil Beaton managed to recreate this “essence of Fairy tale” and apply a version of it to the reinvention of British Royal family. Some say his images saved the monarchy, (probably Cecil!). Presenting the Queen and Princess Elizabeth in the gardens at Buckingham Palace and against a theatrical back drop created a sense of majesty. It was as though Cecil Beaton was a key holder to a kind of wonderland that he longed to share. As a contemporary described it, “with Cecil everyday was a birthday” and on a good day he was able to make magic; many consider his days on My Fair Lady to be his finest.
People in costume at Cecil Beaton’s Ashcombe House for the Fête Champêtre by Cecil Beaton, 19 © Cecil Beaton Archive, Condé Nast
Bianca Jagger by Cecil Beaton, 1978 © Cecil Beaton Archive, Condé Nast
This is something I discuss with Luke Edward Hall who was invited by the museum to design the exhibition.
Beaton’s legend is in part fuelled by the many volumes of deliciously bitchy diaries. One can only assume provided an outlet for someone for whom client facing charm and social “savoire faire” was imperative to success. In the diaries we discover Beaton was not only photographing people but also experiencing and recording them for posterity, on occasion he devoured them. I asked Luke Edward Hall – over a tea of Fortnum’s Battenberg (to match Luke Edwards socks), fine cucumber Sandwiches and Earl Grey tea, What makes Beaton so special for him?
I’m an enormous fan of so much of Beaton’s output – his photography, yes, but also his drawings, stage and costume designs, interiors, and his writing. Yet ultimately, it’s so much more than just his work – what inspires me about Beaton is his approach to life, his endless documentation and cultivation of beauty. It’s the way he looked at the world, and the way he crafted the world around him.
Reddish House Garden Terrace & Cecil Beaton by Anthony Denney
Luke when do you think Gardening really started to be part of Cecil Beatons actual practice rather than a backdrop to his lifestyle?
Beaton began gardening at Ashcombe, and later in life went on to create a remarkable garden at Reddish House – this is where he truly fell in love with gardening. He was of course constantly travelling for his work, and I think the knowledge that his garden at Reddish was waiting for him really sustained him as he moved around the world.
Installation view of ‘Cecil Beaton’s Garden Party’ at the Garden Museum, 14 May-21 September 2025. © B J Deakin Photography
Coat (1937) by Cecil Beaton, Photo © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Installation view of ‘Cecil Beaton’s Garden Party’ at the Garden Museum, 14 May-21 September 2025. © B J Deakin Photography
Installation view of ‘Cecil Beaton’s Garden Party’ at the Garden Museum, 14 May-21 September 2025. © B J Deakin Photography
Why were you so drawn to this project?
The themes that one associates with Beaton – escapism, fantasy, a sense of romance – these very much chime with me, as does his love of the country, nature and gardening. I admire the fact that Beaton was a self-invention: he knew the kind of life that he wanted to live, and he worked hard to make his dreams a reality. Beaton grew up feeling quite separate and distant from his family. I think he felt like he needed to push away from the humdrum, to cultivate a life more vivid and brilliant. One gets the sense from his diaries though that he was often experiencing quite difficult emotions around all of this. There was a pull as well as a push. Ultimately the need Beaton felt to pave his own path imbued in him an extraordinary ambition and will to work.
'Suggestions for Fancy Dress' by Cecil Beaton, British Vogue December 1937 © Cecil Beaton Archive, Condé Nast copie
I reflect on Luke’s thoughts over the delicious perfumed Earl Grey. It was in later life that gardening became such a rewarding creative outlet, and it was at Reddish working with his gardener John Smallpiece, that Beaton started to create his garden. Investing his earnings from lucrative Hollywood jobs in new schemes of delight which he relished. While stuck in California, Beaton would correspond with his gardener, reading these letters there is sense of what the garden represented to him. Was it emotionally grounding? One suspects it was important to him to create an enchanting place of his own, where he could entertain friends or be alone with his flowers, fantasies and beloved cat, Mr Timothy White.
You are invited to Cecil Beaton’s Garden Party: RSVP!
The Garden Museum
Text - Sarah Hyde @babysarah19
Cecil Beaton’s Garden party
14 May - 21 September 2025
Garden Museum @gardenmuseum
www.gardenmuseum.org.uk
Luke Edward Hall @lukeedwardhall