Cecil Beaton had Style, with a capital S, and in many ways it was his aesthetic instinct that defined an era unto itself. Beaton was that rare figure in art; he was as big as his subjects themselves. Dubbed “Malice in Wonderland” by Jean Cocteau, Beaton was a powerful provocateur whose legacy can still be felt.

Cecil Beaton: The New York Years by Donald Albrecht (Skira/Rizzoli) luxuriously catalogues that artist’s oeuvre. By focusing on the period the transformative period of the 1930s through the 60s, we are witness to how Beaton helped shape the modern era. The book provides a lively overview of Beaton’s work in many genres. From page to stage, the artist worked without borders, fulfilling his life-long obsession with inventing and reinventing himself.

As author Donald Albrecht notes in the book’s introduction, “The reasons for Beaton’s longevity—a legacy that goes far beyond retro-chic—may be as varied and elusive as the man himself. There is no question that Beaton was a man of astounding talents, which never wanted over the course of his fifty-year career. His relentless energy and curiosity continually spurred him to pursue new fields of artistic endeavor—fashion photography, illustration, portrait photography, caricatures, books and articles, set and costume design for a variety of media—and to put his own aesthetic stamp on each of these genres.”

Beaton’s work benefited himself, his subject, and his client, making him the ideal artist to have on the payroll. For example, while Vogue helped launch his career in America, he helped turn the magazine from a weekly high-society journal into the Bible it has since become, the go-to guide for all things fashion, art, culture, and lifestyle amongst the cognoscenti.

But Beaton could not be pigoenholed. As Albrecht writes, “Yet a man of cast and unending talent—a veritable Renaissance man of the mid-twentieth century—Beaton refused to be confined to Conde Nast. He thrived on the wide array of New York City’s opportunities, artistic as well as social, while at the asame time he enhanced the city’s allure as one of the most creatively vibrant and glamorous in the world.”

Cecil Beaton: The New York Years is published in conjunction with an exhibition of the same name now on view at the Museum of the City of New York through February 20, 2012. Both the book and the exhibition offer a beautifully produced look into the mind of an original thinker. Beaton’s photographs, at once a thing of beauty and a thing of power, appear alongside his works in other media. When viewed collectively, the effect is astounding—here we are looking at the world through the eye of the twentieth century’s greatest dandy.

As birds of a feather flock together, Beaton and his birds of paradise are brought together within these covers for the sheer pleasure of visual enjoyment. Greta Garbo, Truman Capote, Diana Vreeland, Wallis Simpson, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Andy Warhol, and countless others are all presented with Beaton’s distinctive flair, sitting alongside his iconic fashion photographs, costumes, and set designs. There is something very comforting about the continuity of style no matter what the media; it is as though we understand that Style, with a capital S, transcends the boundaries of time, space, and form. That Style is something you either have—or you don’t.

Sara Rosen

Cecil Beaton: The New York Years
Written by Donald Albrecht, Contribution by The Museum Of The City Of NY

Hardcover, 240 pages
Skira Rizzoli | Photography - Individual Photographer
October 2011 | $65.00 | 978-0-8478-3565-2