National Portrait Gallery, London
The ‘King of Vogue’ was a desperate social climber and the world on view here seems constricted and parochial. Still, his backdrops are fabulous – usually more interesting than his subjectsAt the entrance to the National Portrait Gallery’s new Cecil Beaton exhibition, there’s a wall-sized reproduction of a 1948 colour transparency, originally printed in Vogue. In it, eight coiffed white women wear elegant evening gowns by designer Charles James, chatting and preening in an 18th-century style French-panelled room. They engage only with each other, uninterested in the camera, looming larger-than-life above us. The effect on the viewer is of being excluded, unseen. This feeling only mounts as you proceed through Cecil Beaton’s Fashionable World, a show that presents the photographer as a sharp-tongued socialite obsessed with high society, beauty – and himself.Beaton’s first exhibition at the NPG was in 1968. It was then the first ever solo show by a photographer at a British museum. Sixteen surviving silver gelatin prints from it are presented in the show’s first room. They are lavish, theatrical portraits of brooding beauties with dark-painted lips, a swansong to the age of elegance. Continue reading...
Sunday 12 October 2025
.theguardian - 5 days ago
Cecil Beaton’s Fashionable World review – a narrow view of beauty from a borderline stalker
Latest News
Punjab CM Mann holds virtual meeting with eminent NRIs, seeks support for Mission Chardikala
- newzealandnews Despite limited opportunities.... : Kumble hails Kuldeep for five-for against WI in Delhi Test
- newzealandnews The Guardian view on gen Z protests: these movements share more than an interest in anime | Editorial
- .theguardian The Guardian view on Labour targeting nature: the problem isn’t snails, but a broken housing model | Editorial
- .theguardian William Hill owner says it could shut up to 200 shops if Reeves raises gambling taxes
- .theguardian Uefa plans to relex multi-club ownership declaration rules after Crystal Palace furore
- .theguardian Canada Super 60: Dottin stars as Toronto Sixers make history to win Mel Jones Trophy
- newzealandnews Britain s youth clubs have been quietly decimated. What s most revealing is that few seem to care | John Harris
- .theguardian I spent years trying to avoid Vinted. It turns out I was right to be afraid | Carys Afoko
- .theguardian ‘Rashes, pain, blisters and bleeding’ … are we glossing over the dangers of manicures?
- .theguardian Actor Eve Myles looks back: ‘Early on, I was told I wasn’t the typical leading lady. Now I realise my idiosyncrasies are what make me authentic’
- .theguardian From Annie Hall to Something’s Gotta Give: Diane Keaton was the quintessential comedy queen
- .theguardian How smoking a bong brought back the trauma of being shot by the Taliban – an exclusive extract from Malala Yousafzai’s memoir
- .theguardian Chính quyền tận lực ‘dìm’ Vu Mông Lung, nhưng cư dân mạng phản công thần kỳ! Ban lãnh đạo Mango Media bỏ trốn, cổ phiếu lao dốc!
- dkn Urgent calls for debt relief as study shows health and education cuts in developing world
- .theguardian Democrats are captive to outdated etiquette. It’s endangering democracy | Ryan W Powers
- .theguardian Dining across the divide: ‘He was shocked when I told him that schools weaponise anxiety’
- .theguardian ‘I wanted to write more than I wanted to have children’: author Sarah Perry on rejecting motherhood
- .theguardian Move over, Alan Turing: meet the working-class hero of Bletchley Park you didn’t see in the movies
- .theguardian Country diary: Panic, stress, glory – my day scaling the Inaccessible Pinnacle | Merryn Glover
- .theguardian The IMF boss is right to say ‘buckle up’ – the global economy is facing multiple menaces
- .theguardian This is how we do it: ‘I worried about his kinks, but I’m learning to relax and be playful’
- .theguardian Một tháng sau cái chết của Vu Mông Lung, công lý vẫn chưa được thực thi, dân chúng phẫn nộ thoái ĐCSTQ
- dkn Ceasefire live: aid trucks enter Gaza as Hamas confirms it will begin releasing Israeli hostages on Monday morning
- .theguardian ‘How is this possible?’: a new film looks inside the appalling abuses of the Alabama prison system
- .theguardian Parents who film their children crying for clicks should take a good look at themselves | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett
- .theguardian Philippines says Chinese ship ‘deliberately rammed’ government boat in South China Sea
- .theguardian France is not alone in its political crisis – belief in a democratic world is vanishing | Simon Tisdall
- .theguardian I apologise too much, and it annoys everyone around me. How can I stop? | Ask Annalisa Barbieri
- .theguardian Punk Royale, London W1: ‘Someone shoved mystery slop in my mouth’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants
- .theguardian ‘I realised I’d been ChatGPT-ed into bed’: how ‘Chatfishing’ made finding love on dating apps even weirder
- .theguardian Restitution row: how Nigeria’s new home for the Benin bronzes ended up with clay replicas
- .theguardian My foolproof guide to living with a partner – and not falling out about home decor | Polly Hudson
- .theguardian An ethereally self-aware comedy genius: the loss of Diane Keaton is devastating | Peter Bradshaw
- .theguardian Here’s to the birdwatchers! Optimistic, slightly eccentric custodians of wonder and joy and passion and love
- .theguardian Perfume Genius: ‘I really like body hair! I like a bush. I didn’t even notice Jimmy Fallon censored mine’
- .theguardian Hull KR secure treble with dominant display against Wigan in Super League Grand Final
- .theguardian
Former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard to chair Women’s prize for fiction in 2026
- .theguardian‘Their chemistry made one of their deaths inevitable’: how a billionaire couple’s life in paradise turned deadly
- .theguardianCan Xue and László Krasznahorkai are joint favourites to win 2025 Nobel prize in literature
- .theguardian‘Stay true to yourself – and fly closer to the sun’: what I’ve learned from 50 years of rejection
- .theguardianMan convicted of 38 paedophile offences revealed as police informer who spied on UK activists
- .theguardianOperation Pope review – hard-bitten thriller about a true-life papal assassination plot
- .theguardianI had a cameo in the Inside No 9 stage show. It was a living nightmare | Adrian Chiles
- .theguardianIAF displays India s first indigenous aircraft restored HT-2 for first time, performs aerobatics during 93rd Air Force Day celebrations
- newzealandnewsCecil Beaton’s Fashionable World review – a narrow view of beauty from a borderline stalker
- .theguardian‘It’s a question of humanity’: how a small Spanish town made headlines over its immigration stance
- .theguardianEnslavement, immolation and an HIV diagnosis: the artists expressing harsh truths with collage
- .theguardianIt’s Sam Altman: the man who stole the rights from copyright. If he’s the future, can we go backwards? | Marina Hyde
- .theguardianIf a four-year-old can pronounce a name correctly, so can a politician | Arwa Mahdawi
- .theguardian
Hackers leak Qantas data containing 5 million customer records after ransom deadline passes
- .theguardian Militia drone strike kills at least 30 people at displacement shelter in Sudan, says local group
- .theguardian Hung thủ xong rồi! Oan hồn Vu Mông Lung ra tay, toàn bộ bằng chứng video từ dark web bị rò rỉ!
- dkn Don’t fall for the authoritarian hype – Reform and the hard right can be stopped in their tracks | Gordon Brown
- .theguardian Charlie Higson: ‘By my mid-20s, I had a beer gut. It’s now the most substantial part of me’
- .theguardian From getting kids to eat veg to curbing screen time: the parenting hacks that actually work
- .theguardian Former Israel-Premier Tech cyclist faces €30m damages claim after ending contract over ‘personal belief’
- .theguardian ‘I’m going to write about all of it’: author Chris Kraus on success, drugs and I Love Dick
- .theguardian Emma Doran: ‘When I was growing up, a woman’s biggest compliment would be that she was immaculate’
- .theguardian Trump says ‘for the most part, there is consensus’ on next stages of Gaza ceasefire plan – live
- .theguardian China issues rewards for information about Taiwan military’s ‘psychological warfare unit’
- .theguardian My kids gave me enough material to write TV comedy. Where will the jokes come from now they’ve left? | Helen Serafinowicz
- .theguardian Winter is coming: England’s cricketers fly out for long tour that will decide Ashes and World Cup
- .theguardian A World Cup preying on Fomo: Fifa’s 2026 ticket scheme is a late-capitalist hellscape
- .theguardian Clive Tyldesley: ‘I’ve only been drunk twice and once was with the England women’s team’
- .theguardian Triple Trouble: Fairey, Hirst, Invader review – the most revolting visual soup imaginable
- .theguardian ‘I step outside into a cacophony of nature’: an off-grid escape in the west of England
- .theguardian Witches of Essex: Rylan and Prof Alice’s look at one of history’s most shameful periods is unfailingly moving
- .theguardian Rachel Reeves looks for extra headroom in budget to insulate UK economy against bond market
- .theguardian Meera Sodha’s recipe for za’atar roast vegetables with whipped feta | Meera Sodha recipes
- .theguardian Blind date: ‘After too many tepid, app-based dates, outsourcing my love life to a paper is obviously the way to go’
- .theguardian ‘To the men who ran the world, I was just a photo op’: Malala Yousafzai on growing up, getting cynical – and how getting high nearly broke her
- .theguardian ‘Our job is to maximise their losses’: how Ukraine’s forces attempt to claw back against Russian advances
- .theguardian Your Guardian sport weekend: Women’s cricket, Super League Grand Final and World Cup qualifiers
- .theguardian Six great reads: Trump v Nato, the ‘filthy fifteen’ and the rise of selfish self-help
- .theguardian ‘I deserve to heal’: freed British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah on his prison ordeal and next steps
- .theguardian ‘We’re fighting for you!’ Podcaster Ben Meiselas on taking on the Maga media – and winning the ratings battle
- .theguardian Bellingham must accept Tuchel’s collective structure or risk England exile | Jacob Steinberg
- .theguardian World Cup qualifying: Big win for Northern Ireland while Mbappé helps France close in
- .theguardian Women s World Cup: New Zealand registers first win in tournament with 100-run drubbing of Bangladesh
- newzealandnews Trump’s strong-arming of Netanyahu led to a deal. He must sustain that pressure | Mohamad Bazzi
- .theguardian Martín Zubimendi: ‘I have to adapt but Arsenal signed me because they like what I do’
- .theguardian ‘I expect to find a ghost city’: Gaza residents on the long, arduous journey back home
- .theguardian Boris Johnson breached rules designed to stop abuse of contacts made in public office, watchdog finds
- .theguardian Moss and Freud review – Kate meets Lucian and they get on brilliantly with absolutely no funny business at all
- .theguardian Taylor Swift scores second-biggest UK charts opening week ever with The Life of a Showgirl
- .theguardian The Guardian view on AC Milan playing a ‘home’ game in Perth: the clue should be in the name | Editorial
- .theguardian The Guardian view on an AI bubble: capitalism still hasn’t evolved to protect itself | Editorial
- .theguardian Multiple people dead or missing after powerful blast at Tennessee military explosives plant
- .theguardian Flag alert! Gary Neville may not be Orwell but he is a very English type of patriot | Barney Ronay
- .theguardian Sources