#154 CAMERA Book Review: Cecil Beaton - War Photographs - 1939-45

A look through some truly amazing photography from World War 2 by photographer Cecil Beaton.

Cecil Beaton's War Photographs 1939–1945 brings together the work he produced as an official photographer for the British Ministry of Information during the Second World War. First published by B. T. Batsford in 1945, the book documents Britain's civilian home front as well as Allied military operations across North Africa, the Middle East, India, Burma and the Far East. Although Beaton was already internationally recognised for his fashion and society portraiture, his wartime assignments marked a significant shift in his career, resulting in a substantial body of documentary photography that recorded both the human consequences of war and the daily lives of those involved in the Allied war effort.

The photographs range from bomb damaged streets and civilian casualties during the Blitz to military personnel, factory workers, nurses, airmen and soldiers serving in theatres of war overseas. Among Beaton's most influential images are his portraits of Londoners affected by German bombing, including the widely reproduced photograph of the young hospital patient Eileen Dunne, which became an important symbol of British civilian resilience and was used to strengthen support for Britain in the United States. War Photographs 1939–1945 demonstrates Beaton's ability to combine the compositional discipline of portrait photography with documentary observation, creating one of the most significant photographic records of Britain's wartime experience.

160 b&w photographs.
Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: Jane's Information Group; First edition edition (7 Oct. 1981)
Language: English
Package Dimensions: 29.4 x 24.8 x 2.6 cm

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