Beatons in Tisbury were honoured to be the first Tearoom to be a part of the high profile book launch - one has already been held in London's National Portrait Gallery, others in New York and Chicago- for the latest book on Cecil Beaton.
Cecil Beaton (1904 1980): photographer, costume designer, set designer, playwright, creator of fashion fabrics, and designer of sophisticated and extravagant interiors.
Cecil Beaton has been named as ‘one of the 20th century’s most outrageous, and outrageously talented, design legends.’
Cecil Beaton at Home, written by local author Andrew Ginger, focuses on two homes that Cecil Beaton loved and spent many years at.
Ashcombe House, near the Wiltshire village of Tollard Royal, and Reddish House, located in Broad Chalke, another village in beautiful Wiltshire.
We also discover some of the splendours at London's Pelham Place and Beatons’ New York hotel suites.
We see that Beatons country homes were not only havens to escape and seek inspiration for his photography and other artistic pursuits.
But also, and maybe more so, they were designed to provide a theatrical, fanciful yet always beautiful surrounding for Beaton to entertain his equally artistic companions.
Against his often-extravagant interiors, Beatons private life unfolds his unique talent for self-promotion, desire for theatricality, and uncertain pursuit of love.
As Cecil Beaton himself puts it;
'One can't get on at all if one doesn't have a little glamour about ones home'
This lavishly illustrated visual biography brings together original photographs, artworks, and possessions from his interiors to present an intimate picture of Beaton s extraordinary life.
Beatons Tisbury was packed with Cecil Beaton and home interiors fans as local resident and Beaudesert owner Andrew Ginger spoke about his magnificent book, 'Cecil Beaton at Home: An Interior Life' just published by Rizzoli.
Beatons Blandford Forum will host a further book signing - date to be announced soon. This brilliant book is available to buy in both Tearooms.