Cecil Beaton: The Royal Portraits (Victoria and Albert Museum)

Organised chronologically, from the 1930s to the 1970s, each of the book's four chapters comprises an introductory essay, plates with extended captions and one or two in-depth analyses of a particular sitting. Throughout, a variety of contextual material - contact sheets, test shots, out-takes, sketches, letters, journals, tear-sheets - helps build a detailed picture of Beaton's working methods, the relationships he developed with his sitters and how the eventual portraits were received. The Cecil Beaton: The Royal Portraits (Victoria And Albert Museum) is by Thames and Hudson Ltd.