Dame Edith Sitwell, 1962
Photograph
1962 (made)
1962 (made)
| Artist/Maker |
Cecil Beaton launched his career as a society photographer with an exhibition in London in 1926, which quickly won him a contract with Vogue. Later, he became the official photographer to the British Royal Family, as well as an Oscar-winning stage and costume designer. In this photograph, Beaton has captured poet Dame Edith Sitwell (1887-1964) at multiple angles. He superimposed the individual negatives of each photograph to create a surrealist composition of Sitwell's turned gaze. Sitwell was celebrated for her unique style, often adorning herself in extravagant hats and turbans, and wearing several large jewel rings.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Dame Edith Sitwell, 1962 |
| Materials and techniques | Photography |
| Brief description | Photograph by Cecil Beaton of Dame Edith Sitwell, 1962 |
| Physical description | Black and white photograph mounted onto cardboard depicting British poet Dame Edith Sitwell captured from multiple angles wearing a feather hat against a white background of fabric and paper. The composition in this print is achieved by Beaton's superimposition of several negatives affording the portrait a surrealist effect. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Purchased for 5 guineas in 1965 |
| Object history | This photograph is printed from the same negative that Cecil Beaton used in his book Images (London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1963). It was taken the same year as Edith Sitwell turned 75. |
| Summary | Cecil Beaton launched his career as a society photographer with an exhibition in London in 1926, which quickly won him a contract with Vogue. Later, he became the official photographer to the British Royal Family, as well as an Oscar-winning stage and costume designer. In this photograph, Beaton has captured poet Dame Edith Sitwell (1887-1964) at multiple angles. He superimposed the individual negatives of each photograph to create a surrealist composition of Sitwell's turned gaze. Sitwell was celebrated for her unique style, often adorning herself in extravagant hats and turbans, and wearing several large jewel rings. |
| Bibliographic reference | Taken from Departmental Circulation Register 1966 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | CIRC.6-1965 |
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| Record created | May 9, 2016 |
| Record URL |
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