Arthur Beckwith was born in London, England on Jan. 24, 1860. Arthur was the son of noted watercolorist, Benjamin Beckwith. He studied art with his father and at South Kensington School in London before moving to San Francisco in 1884. For the next 20 years he painted prolifically and created a large body of work, most of which went up in flames in the 1906 disaster. Despondent over his loss, he stopped painting for several years. Settling into a home across the Golden Gate in Greenbrae, he commuted by ferry daily to his studio in San Francisco in the old "Monkey Block" (now the Transamerica Pyramid).

Beckwith died there on Sept. 2, 1930. His work includes still lifes, landscapes, and marines.

Member: Bohemian Club; Sequoia Club; Marin Co. AA; San Francisco Art Association. Exh: Kanst Gallery (LA), 1915.

Works Held: De Young Museum; Bohemian Club; Sequoia Club (SF).

It is unclear whether or not this artist is the same as the Arthur Beckwith, who was born in England and became an active California painter. Lois Fink in her book refers to an American artist named Beckwith who exhibited in 1880 at the Paris Salon. The National Academy of Design records show an Arthur Beckwith living in New York in 1875 and exhibiting sketches. The California Beckwith's dates are 1860-1930, so it seems unlikely but not impossible that this Arthur Beckwith is the same as that artist.

Source:
Peter Hastings Falk, Editor, Who Was Who in American Art