Find us here:
Hawarden Estate, Pedlars Central, Castle Rise, Hawarden Estate. CH5 3NY
On Thursday 16th October, we will host a Cecil Beaton Party on Hawarden Estate, this will be styled as though it were an actual Cecil party from the 1930s, which were seriously cool parties.
Over the course of the evening, guests can get up close with the family archive and enjoy an evening of celebration and stimulation of new conversations and connections informed by his legacy.
Cecil became as famous as the people he photographed. His biographer commented: ‘He advanced the role of the photographer from being a man who arrived at the trademan’s entrance to arriving at the front door and very often staying for lunch.’ In fact, he was a successful designer, artist, writer, as well as a photographer. Whatever the latest project – from a fashion shoot for Vogue to designing costumes for Hollywood films like My Fair Lady and Gigi – Cecil applied his unerring instinct for the theatrical and the beautiful.
Through his family connection, the Cecil Beaton archive at Hawarden survives as a trove of personal memories, including photograph albums, scrapbooks, drawings, paintings and ephemera. Like all family collections, the archive tells a story of loving relationships and private enjoyments.
Tickets are £40 per person and include a welcome drink, food over the course of the evening and a talk by Dr. Helen Leahy.