Cecil Beaton quotes

Cecil Beaton was an English photographer, designer, and diarist renowned for his elegant portrait photography and stage designs. His work spanned fashion, celebrity portraiture, and theatrical set and costume design, earning him international acclaim. He became especially famous for his iconic images of royalty and Hollywood stars. Here are 11 of his quotes:

More varied than any landscape was the landscape in the sky, with islands of gold and silver, peninsulas of apricot and rose against a background of many shades of turquoise and azure.

Cecil Beaton

Never in the history of fashion has so little material been raised so high to reveal so much that needs to be covered so badly.

Cecil Beaton

Perhaps the world's second-worst crime is boredom; the first is being a bore.

Cecil Beaton

San Francisco is perhaps the most European of all American cities.

Cecil Beaton

What is elegance? Soap and water!

Cecil Beaton

I can't afford a whole new set of enemies.

Cecil Beaton

Americans have an abiding belief in their ability to control reality by purely material means... airline insurance replaces the fear of death with the comforting prospect of cash.

Cecil Beaton

On close inspection, this device turned out to be a funereal juke box - the result of mixing Lloyd's of London with the principle of the chewing gum dispenser.

Cecil Beaton

All I want is the best of everything and there's very little of that left.

Cecil Beaton