Bonhams to Offer Cecil Beaton Designs in Collections Sale, Including Roy Astley Collection
Bonhams will present a large selection of designs by Cecil Beaton (1904-1980) in its Collections Sale, which runs online from May 20 to June 3, 2025, on bonhams.com. The sale includes the Roy Astley Collection of Theatrical Designs and selected items from the estate of Sir Brian Williamson. Highlights include costume designs for Katharine Hepburn in 'Coco' (estimate £1,200-1,800) and sketches for 'My Fair Lady,' as well as designs for Vivien Leigh, Rudolf Nureyev, and Margot Fonteyn. Other lots include an Omar Ramsden silver-mounted mazer bowl (estimate £15,000-25,000) and a Cecil Beaton portrait of Picasso (estimate £8,000-12,000).
The Signal
The sale underscores sustained market interest in Beaton’s theatrical work, which extends beyond his celebrated photography. The Roy Astley collection, built by a lifelong theatre professional, includes designs exhibited at the 1986 Cecil Beaton retrospective at Barbican Art Gallery, lending provenance. With the Garden Museum’s upcoming 'Cecil Beaton's Garden Party' exhibition featuring costumes and designs, the auction arrives at a moment of heightened institutional and collector focus on Beaton’s stage and film output, potentially boosting demand for his costume sketches and related ephemera.
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- Artists: Cecil Beaton, Oliver Messel, Anne Redpath, Charles Vincent Lamb
- People: Charlie Thomas, Roy Astley, Geoffrey Sawyer, Sir Brian Williamson
- Auction Houses: Bonhams
- Museums: Barbican Art Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, The Garden Museum
- Locations: London
- Prices: £1,200-1,800, £15,000-25,000, £12,000-18,000, £8,000-12,000, £6,000-10,000, £2,000-3,000
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