Hugo Vickers Hodder & Stoughton £25
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At the age of 28 in 1979, Hugo Vickers was commissioned to write the biography of the flamboyant photographer, designer and aesthete Sir Cecil Beaton.
Vickers paid two brief visits to the 76-year-old Beaton, and had just finished writing him a thank-you letter when the news came through that he had died. So Vickers’ first act as biographer was to attend his subject’s funeral.
Over the next five years, Vickers buzzed around the world interviewing Beaton’s friends and enemies – two categories that came with a large overlap. These frenemies were, for the most part, camp, wealthy, waspish, posh, arty and elderly: many of them had been born in the 19th Century.
High society artist bringing personal touch to gallery );
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THE work of an artist who made his name sculpting a public monument to the Duke of Westminster has gone on show at a Henley gallery.
Jonathan Wylder, who lives in the town and has a studio in Nettlebed, will also be in residence at Henley Fine Art in Market Place two days a week.
The 63-year-old, who is best known for his bronze sculptures but is also a noted painter, says he hopes his involvement could potentially help inspire younger visitors to the gallery.
He says: “I remember when I walked into a stone carver’s studio for the first time and could not believe the smell of the dust, the dust in his hair, piles of bricks and carving away it just blew my mind.
The Globe and Mail Nolan Bryant Published April 8, 2021
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