Chastworth exhibition puts Dowager's life in the frame

Cecil Beaton Photographs of Deborah Devonshire and Her Glittering Social Circle To Go on Show at Chatsworth
Never a Bore: Deborah Devonshire and Her Set by Cecil Beaton
19 March-September 2016 — Cecil Beaton Photographs of Deborah Devonshire and Her Glittering Social Circle To Go on Show at Chatsworth Never a Bore: Deborah Devonshire and Her Set by Cecil Beaton 19 March-September 2016

Never a Bore includes pictures of the Dowager and her social circle, taken by her friend and well known portrait photographer Cecil Beaton.

The exhibition takes its inspiration from one of Beaton’s most famous remarks: “Perhaps the world’s second-worst crime is boredom; the first is being a bore.”

Beaton was an early house guest of the Devonshire’s when they moved to Chatsworth in 1959 and captured many candid and relaxed portraits of his friend, Deborah Devonshire.

Renowned for his images of glamour, elegance and style, Cecil Beaton photographed many of the 20th century’s most interesting personalities, from politicians and artists to Hollywood legends.

This new exhibition presents around 65 photographs from The Cecil Beaton Studio Archive, on loan from Sotheby’s, along with other rarely seen items from the Chatsworth archive.

Combined with his insightful and witty commentary on many of his subjects, Never a Bore will recreate the essence of the Duchess’s world and dazzling social set.

On display in the New Gallery, between March 19 to September and the exhibition is included in the normal house admission.

More information can be found at www.chatsworth.org