Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton: A Diamond Jubilee Celebration

Cecil Beaton, one of the most famous fashion photographers of the 20th century, may have worked for Vogue and Vanity Fair but he also had a long standing relationship with The Queen and it's his photographs of our ruling monarch that get an airing in Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton: A Diamond Jubilee Celebration. The Queen was a teenager when she first sat for Beaton in 1942 and this exhibition explores Beaton's interactions with her over the next three decades as he photographed her on many significant occasions including her coronation day in 1953 - an informal shot of her on that day is just one of a number of photographs which have never seen before. The unique royal portaits in this V & A exhibition are brought to life by excerpts from Beaton's diaries and letters as well as film and radio footage from the time. The exhibition is arranged in five sections documenting important sittings and charting the shift in Beaton's photographic style, from his early Rococo-inspired portraits to a starker approach in the 1960s. In one section the camera is turned around, showing portraits of Beaton himself taken by fellow photographers including Curtis Moffat, Irving Penn and David Bailey.