Peter Beard

Peter Beard is a photographer and artist who spent decades living and working at his rustic tent camp in Kenya, where he documented both Africa’s natural beauty and its environmental decay. Mr. Beard was last seen at his cliff-side compound of shingled cottages on the tip of Long Island where he has lived for 45 years. His six-acre property, where the Rolling Stones used to party, is home to Mr. Beard’s studio as well as his home. Investigators say Mr. Beard was last seen outside on the grounds on March 31 2020 at around 4:40 p.m. by his wife, Nejma Beard. Beard's companions in artistic and social circles included Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol and Truman Capote, as well as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and her sister Lee Radziwill, with whom he had a love affair. His first two wives were the heiress Minnie Cushing and the model Cheryl Tiegs. In recent years, the price of Mr. Beard’s work has continued to rise. In October 2017, a silver gelatin print collage of orphaned cheetah cubs near Nyeri, Kenya, fetched $672,500 at Christie’s. Elton John owns several important pieces by Mr. Beard. Nejma Beard filed for divorce in the mid-90s, but the couple reconciled after the attack and remained married. Besides his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Zara; a granddaughter, and his brothers, Anson Jr. and Samuel.