What Cecil Beaton can teach us…
…about renting, being cancelled, dealing with horrible bosses… and how gardening can save a life
It was 1930. Cecil Beaton, then just 26, had his first glimpse of Ashcombe House, near Wiltshire. As he entered the grounds through the gatehouse, he could barely catch his breath:
‘None of us uttered a word as we came under the vaulted ceiling and stood before a small, compact house of lilac-coloured brick. We inhaled sensuously the strange, haunting – and rather haunted – atmosphere of the place ... I was almost numbed by my first encounter with the house. It was as if I had been touched on the head by some magic wand.’
The owner agreed to rent the property to Beaton for £50 a year, as long as he made improvements. Which of course he did. Not just to the house, whose famous guests including Dali and Tallulah Bankhead gave a hand with the décor, while RexWhistler designed the front door. The orangerie became Beaton’s studio. When Beaton was evicted, he was heartbroken, writing a book, Ashcombe – the story of a fifteen-year lease, a tome which angered the owner greatly. Beaton was able to purchase Reddish House nearby, where he created a beautiful garden: a white walk, a water garden, a rose garden. Here he photographed the likes of Mick Jagger, working for Vogue for decades. He was cancelled before the war for including an anti-Semitic symbol in a drawing for US Vogue, but in 1939 was brought back into the fold by Queen Elizabeth, consort of George VI. The photographs taken that day in and around Buckingham Palace changed the public’s perception of the royal family. Dressed by Norman Hartnell, the Queen appeared modern, human, warm. Beaton repaid her kindness by becoming a war photographer, finally earning his rehabilitation.
I love the fact, though, that Beaton, despite his fame and talent, was treated very strictly by the then editor of Vogue, Audrey Withers. We always think star writers, photographers, actors simply sail through life, but of course that’s not true. In an exchange of letters in 1955, Withers berates him at considerable length.
‘I have unpleasant news for you. We all found these pictures unpublishable, since they did not in any way embody or put over the theme of our What to Wear with What feature.
‘I believe that though booked for two days, you in fact spent a very short time on these pictures, and on the second day barely an hour… While no one can be more charming than you, Cecil, no one either can be more devastating. You are simply prepared to fit some fashion photography into the interstices of your busy life…’
His reply? ‘It is true I did make luncheon appointments, but then, perhaps unreasonably, most of us indulge in a midday meal.’
Beaton’s second garden, and his love of beauty, saved his life. He suffered a stroke, which left him paralysed, and he wanted to die. ‘But the garden was in bloom, so I changed my mind!’
His link to florist to the stars Nikki Tibbles is tenuous, but I will tell you anyway. I interviewed Nikki a few years ago at her Notting Hill house, where rescue dogs roam everywhere: she would rather see a beautiful dog than a pristine sofa, and founded the Wild at Heart Foundation, which rescues dogs all over the world. She told me stories about the A-list weddings she has curated the flowers for, but her favourite of all was the one she arranged for Guy Ritchie, on the occasion of his second marriage. He had bought Ashcombe House with his first wife, Madonna, and was able to keep it in the marriage break-up. He had lovingly restored the garden, and grew every bloom for his second wedding from seed. Doesn’t fit his hard man image at all… but I am sure Cecil would have been thrilled.
And it is thanks to Nikki I have my rescue collie Missy, who was featured on her web site, needing a home after many years in an outside kennel.
Here she is, looking as manic as ever…
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