There’s a certain elegance that even today permeates from the world of Cecil Beaton, the acclaimed photographer, set designer, and artist.
And so it was fitting that on Wednesday, January 31, newportFILM hosted a screening of “Love, Cecil” at Rosecliff, a venue that, like the film’s subject, exudes its own kind of timeless elegance.
If these walls could talk, what, I wonder, would they say. Perhaps they might have some stories to rival that of Beaton himself.
The setting was not lost on director and newportFILM alum Lisa Immordino Vreeland, who spoke in admiration for both her subject and the venue.
Seemingly not content with the world as it was, Beaton sought to create one of his own; one filled with beauty, grace, and whimsy.
Lisa Immordino Vreeland, whose previous film “Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict” about the socialite and American art collector which was screened by newportFILM in 2015, spent hours pouring over archival footage and documents to piece together Beaton’s life.
And in the end, we’re left to consider the nature of Beaton’s artistic legacy.
Is it that of a photographer; a set designer; or author? As he notes in the opening moments of the film, “I wish I knew…I’m afraid that’s been my problem for a very long time.”
photo credit: Jennifer Manville Photography
