Born in Norwich, Norfolk, England, Arthur Beaumont became known for his watercolor paintings of ships and harbor scenes, although he also painted scenes of landscapes, figures, and portraits. He became a World War II war artist, documenting naval battles that were published in "National Geographic". After the war, he did watercolors of naval actions in Japan, China, Guam, Vietnam and the Antartic. In 1989, a book, Arthur Beaumont, Naval Artist was published, and it was a documentation of his life and art.

He was raised in England and then went to Saskatchewan, Canada at the age of 19. He worked as a ranch hand for a few months and then moved to California where his earliest paintings show his experiences on cattle farms in the San Joaquin Valley.

In his early 20s, he studied at the Mark Hopkins Art Institute, the University of California at Berkeley and the Los Angeles School of Art and Design. He also studied in Paris, and in 1932 became an officer in the U.S. Naval Reserve. Until 1977, he was fleet illustrator and taught at Chouinard Art Institute. He lived in Los Angeles excepting in Laguna Hills the last ten years of his life.

Sources:
Edan Hughes, Artists in California, 1786-1940
Gordon McClelland and Jay Last, California Watercolors 1850-1970

Dedicated naval officer and marine painter Arthur Beaumont enjoyed an association with the United States Navy that spanned nearly five decades. His classical training as an artist and his fascination for the sea and its vessels gave him the unique opportunity to record history and create fine works of art simultaneously.

Born in England, Beaumont emigrated to the U.S. in 1909 where he studied at the San Francisco Institute of Art. He continued his education at the L.A. School of Art and Design and the Chouinard School where he won a scholarship to continue his art studies at the University of London. In Europe he also studied at some of the finest art schools in France, Belgium and Holland.

In 1932 a portrait of Vice Admiral William Leahy so impressed the admiral, he asked Beaumont to create paintings of the U.S. fleet, and offered him a commission. For the next forty years as the navy's official war artist, Beaumont painted America's great battle fleets from WW II through Vietnam. During the last years of his life, Beaumont painted from his home in Laguna Hills, California.

Arthur Beaumont (1890-1978) Born: Norwich, England; Studied: Mark Hopkins Institute of Art (San Francisco), Chouinard Art Institute (Los Angeles), Los Angeles School of Art, Slade School of Art (London), Academie Julian (Paris); Member: New York Water Color Club, American Watercolor Society, California Water Color Society.

Arthur Beaumont grew up in England then immigrated to America via Canada when he was nineteen years old. He studied art with Stanton MacDonald-Wright in Los Angeles, William Russell Flint and Frank Brangwyn in London and Jean-Paul Laurens in Paris. In the late 1920s, he taught at the Chouinard Art Institute and operated a freelance commercial art business. In the 1930s, he became a Lieutenant in the United States Naval Reserve and began producing the first of many watercolors depicting battle ships and other naval subjects.

During World War II, he was a war artist, documenting naval battles. A series of these works were published in National Geographic magazine. After the war he continued producing watercolors of naval activities in China, Japan, Guam, Vietnam and the Antarctic. Although he painted depictions of landscape and figurative subjects and worked as a commissioned portrait artist, Beaumont is best known for his watercolors of ships and harbor scenes.

Throughout his career, he exhibited in California on a regular basis. His works were very popular, especially in the 1940s and 1950s, with articles about his works appearing in many newspapers and magazines. In 1989, a book titled Arthur Beaumont, Naval Artist, which documented his life exhibition at the Laguna Art Museum.

Biographical information:

Interview with Dorothy Beaumont, 1982

Arthur Beaumont, Naval Artist

Biography courtesy of California Watercolors 1850-1970,

©2002 Hillcrest Press, Inc.

California Watercolor