view counter

Cecil Beaton’s Bright Young Things at the National Portrait Gallery

At a glance
Add to calendar
Time 10:00
Date 12/03/20
Price £20

Explore the extravagant and deliriously eccentric world of the glamorous and stylish ‘Bright Young Things’ of the 20s and 30s, seen through the eye of renowned British photographer Cecil Beaton.

Thursday 12 March - Sunday 07 June 2020. 10:00 - 18:00. Friday until 21:00.

It will bring to life the eccentric, glamorous and creative era of British cultural life, combining High Society and the avant-garde, artists and writers, socialites and partygoers.

Featuring the leading cast of the ‘Bright Young Things’, many of whom Beaton would call friends – Anna May Wong, Oliver Messel and Stephen Tennant among others, this show will chart Beaton’s transformation from middle-class surburban schoolboy to glittering society figure and the unrivalled star of Vogue. In addition to Beaton’s own portraits, the exhibition will also feature paintings by friends and artists including Rex Whistler, Henry Lamb, and Augustus John.

……………………………………………………………………………………….
COMPETITION: Win 1x pair of tickets to attend Cecil Beaton’s Bright Young Things at the National Portrait Gallery. To enter the competition, send an email to vienna@run-riot.com with the correct answer in the ‘subject’ line. The winner will be randomly selected.

Q: Cecil Beaton was known to be brutally honest about his subjects. Whilst capturing pictures which would ultimately end up in Portraits and Profiles, he once said the following about an actress:

“If this star is an abandoned sprite, she touchingly looks to her audience for approval. She is strikingly like an over-excited child asked downstairs after tea. The initial shyness over, excitement has now got the better of her. She romps, she squeals with delight, she leaps on to the sofa. She puts a flower stem in her mouth, puffing on daisy as though it were a cigarette. It is an artless, impromptu, high-spirited, infectiously gay performance. It will probably end in tears.”

The question is, to whom was he referring?

A: .1) Elizabeth Taylor .2) Audrey Hepburn .3) Marilyn Monroe .4) Marlene Dietrich

view counter