BEAUMONT, Arthur Edwaine (1890-1978)

Yacht at Dockside by Arthur Edwaine Beaumont (1890-1978) 17.70" x 11.70", Oil/Canvas, Unsigned Est.: $1,000 - $1,500 Sold by John Moran Auctioneers for $8,800 on 06/15/2004 ARTIST WORLD RECORD

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