For much of the twentieth century, it was impossible not to have heard of Cecil Beaton: photographer, illustrator, set and costume designer extraordinaire. And if you were in high society, you probably knew the multi-talented artist personally. Curator Donald Albrecht traces Beaton’s high-style life and influence in the Museum of the City of New York’s exhibitionCecil Beaton: The New York Years(through February 20), and a companion book by the same name (Skira Rizzoli, $65).

In 1928, at the tender age of twenty-four, the English-born Beaton decamped to New York in the belief that, unlike London, New York would not limit his ability to achieve fame—or notoriety. Beaton was a man about both of these towns for over fifty years, no doubt helped by his work as a staff photographer for Vogue, and later for Vanity Fair. Soon after arriving in Manhattan, he was photographing and socializing with stars of print and film, including Truman Capote, the Astaires, Mae West, Greta Garbo and Diana Vreeland. His portraits were so theatrical that his foray into set designing was all but inevitable: his costume designs for the Broadway hit My Fair Lady won him a Tony and Oscars for the film version. Sketches of his set and costume designs, as well as his suite at the Plaza Hotel, capture his colorful, creative spirit. But most telling are his portraits of many of the world’s most famous and enigmatic stars—Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Mick Jagger, Andy Warhol, etc.—enhanced by his correspondence with a trove of bold-faced names. If you’re In New York, be sure to visit the exhibition, which includes costumes from My Fair Lady and Gigi. The book, brimming with Beaton’s images, is a stunning reminder of the days when glossy magazines and print photography were at their glamorous peak.