Cecil Beaton: The New York Years

Cecil Beaton seems a character who belongs wholly to another age. He embodied the flamboyance of a dandy and possessed the work ethic of a Calvinist, the result of which was an impressive body of work encompassing photography, costume design, writing and drawing. Part of the upper-class 1920s-era British movement known as the "Bright Young People" (which included the Mitford sisters, Evelyn Waugh and Anthony Powell), Beaton conquered America with the ambitious hunger of an outsider. Beaton's signature approach to his subjects - whether through the camera lens or sketch book - is a combination of flattery and idealization. The gentle beams of light caressing his subjects as they stood within glamorous surroundings was a portrait of the upper classes he strove to maintain.

More interesting are his art-directed fashion shoots, which are masterpieces of geometric abstraction, verging on the surreal. When presented with a subject whose natural beauty can be confronted head on, however, (such as Greta Garbo, his unlikely romantic partner) the results surpass his soft-focus artifice. The costumes, sketches and set designs on view from My Fair Lady and other productions add another layer of depth to his persona, suggesting a dedication to aesthetics that was more than skin deep.