Photograph of Cecil Beaton with gift inscription to Stephen Tennant by NORTH, Peter - 1930

[London] Peter North late 1920s [1930], 1930. Black and white photograph inscribed in black ink on the paper mount, "Dearest Stephen Best love from Cecil Christmas 1930". Signed in pencil by Peter North. The photograph measures 313x234mm, mounted on cream paper and cream card and in a simple black wooden frame (400x315mm). The paper mount on which the photograph is mounted is little creased and there are three small scatches (c5-10mm) and a few tiny white spots on the photograph. Otherwise in excellent condition. The striking image shows Beaton lying on the ground, hands behind his head, with the top of his head pushed up against a mirror. His head and eyes are tilted upwards to look at his own image in the glass so that it is his reflection that catches our gaze. It is a very clever photograph drawing together references to Narcissus and Janus while suggesting that Beaton meets us and is knowable only through his reflection. It is a perfect metaphor for the photographer who sees the world, and is in turn seen by the world, through glass. By 1930, Cecil Beaton had established himself as the photographer-in-chief to the Bright Young Things of which Stephen Tennant was the Brightest. The two men were close friends as Beaton's warm inscription attests. Peter North was a fine photographer of society figures (including the Royal Family) but his career was not a long one and he is perhaps best known now for the series of photographs he took of Beaton in the late 1920s. They are rare in commerce. The NPG has the full set but this one of Beaton in the mirror is the best, the most artistic and the most conceptually complex. Tennant, of whom it was said that he was more serious than he appeared on the surface, must have realised and enjoyed the deeper meanings suggested by this photograph's visual games.