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Arthur Beaumont in his combat correspondent uniform, China, 1947
Beaumont Family Archives

 

FROM THE EXHIBITION
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Arthur Beaumont: Art of the Sea

To the artist Arthur Beaumont (1890-1978), the sea and the vessels that sailed on it held endless fascination. He sought to create an artistic record of the activities and accomplishments of the U.S. Navy, from the launching of the U.S.S. Constitution in 1797, to the fierce battles of World War II, to the Atomic Bomb tests at Bikini Atoll, and to the expeditions to the North and South Poles. All of these historic events and more are recorded in his paintings.

Beaumont’s body of work includes numerous portraits of specific naval vessels, including mighty aircraft carriers and battleships as well as personal yachts of presidents and celebrities. His art portrays not only admirals but also common sailors and soldiers. They formed the core of his series of significant wartime commissions for National Geographic Magazine. In 1958, Beaumont was named Artist Laureate of the U.S. Fleet.

DISCOVERING CALIFORNIA

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Born in Thorpe St. Andrew England, Beaumont came to California in the spring of 1909 to study art at Berkeley, the school his older brother attended. To raise money for tuition, the young artist spent his summers working as a ranch hand until a group of cattle rustlers beat him so badly that he was left nearly unable to ride horses. Seeking a substitute for the saddle, he turned to California’s shimmering shores and vibrant landscapes. 

 8 Bowers Museum Cowboy at the Corral Lassoing a Steer 1 6 1


Arthur Beaumont 
Cowboy at the Corral
Lassoing a Steer, 1929
Oil 
10 3/8 x 13 ½ in. 
Loan Courtesy of Bowers Museum, Gift of Paul and Ruth Knaak

 8 Bowers Museum Cowboy at the Corral Lassoing a Steer 1 6 1


Arthur Beaumont 
The Fence Rider
(Untitled self-portrait), 1934
Watercolor 
15 ¾ x 19 ¾ in. 
Courtesy of the Los Angeles Athletic Club Collection

 8 Bowers Museum Cowboy at the Corral Lassoing a Steer 1 6 1


Arthur Beaumont 
Ebbtide, 1932
Watercolor 
10 x 13 in. 
Discovery Cube’s Ocean Quest

 8 Bowers Museum Cowboy at the Corral Lassoing a Steer 1 6 1


Arthur Beaumont 
Untitled, Seascape with rock, 1947
Watercolor 
15 ¼ x 19 ¼ in. 
The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine

 8 Bowers Museum Cowboy at the Corral Lassoing a Steer 1 6 1


Arthur Beaumont 
Schooner William H. Harriman, 1925
Watercolor 
13 ¾ x 18 ½ in. 
Courtesy of the Los Angeles Maritime Museum

 8 Bowers Museum Cowboy at the Corral Lassoing a Steer 1 6 1


Arthur Beaumont 
Untitled, a California Coast seascape, 1949
Watercolor 
20 x 30 in. 
The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine

 8 Bowers Museum Cowboy at the Corral Lassoing a Steer 1 6 1


Arthur Beaumont 
Fog Horn, 1950
Watercolor 
15 x 22 in. 
Courtesy of the Hilbert Collection

 8 Bowers Museum Cowboy at the Corral Lassoing a Steer 1 6 1


Arthur Beaumont 
Untitled, a painting of a California Mission, 1949
Watercolor on paper  
16 x 12 in. 
The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine


 BRUSHES WITH FAME

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After arriving in Los Angeles, Beaumont quickly established himself as a member of the art scene, a role which led him to paint important U.S. Naval officers and the boats of celebrities. Over the course of his career, he created several series of famous figures and ships from throughout U.S. maritime history. Just over a decade before he passed away, Beaumont was invited to welcome the R.M.S. Queen Mary to the port of Los Angeles aboard the U.S.S. Long Beach.

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Arthur Beaumont 
Colonel James Underhill, 1935
Oil on canvas 
41 ½ x 29 ½ in. 
The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine

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Arthur Beaumont 
Portrait of Admiral William D. Leahy, 1936
Oil on canvas
41 x 36 3/8 in. 
Courtesy of U.S. Naval Academy Museum

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Arthur Beaumont 
U.S.S. Constitution, 1965
Watercolor 
21 1/8 x 16 3/8 in. 
Courtesy of the Alison Beaumont Hahn Collection

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Arthur Beaumont 
John Paul Jones on the U.S.S. Ranger, July 4, 1777, 1934
Pen and Ink 
14 x 15 in. 
Courtesy of the Stuart Bourdon Collection Gift to Dorine Lane Bourdon (artist’s granddaughter) upon her high school graduation

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Arthur Beaumont 
Stella Polaris, Howard Hughes' yacht, 1935
Watercolor 
12 ½ x 15 in. 
Courtesy of the Los Angeles Maritime Museum

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Arthur Beaumont 
Study for The Last Voyage of the Queen Mary, 1972
Pencil 
12 x 16 in. 
Catherine Campbell Beaumont Collection

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Arthur Beaumont 
The Last Voyage of the Queen Mary, in the company of the U.S.S. Long Beach, 1972
Watercolor 
19 x 24 in. 
Catherine Campbell Beaumont Collection


 CALM BEFORE THE STORM

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Beaumont began painting the U.S. Navy vessels harbored in the port of Los Angeles as a civilian. In 1931, Captain Percy Foot of the U.S.S. Arkansas invited the artist to sail with him and paint his portrait, beginning a fruitful relationship between Beaumont and the U.S. Navy. Less than a year later Beaumont accepted a commission as a naval lieutenant with the title of “Artist of the Fleet.” His earliest naval paintings show Allied vessels in various states of wartime preparedness.

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Arthur Beaumont 
Pacific Patrol, U.S.S. Pennsylvania, 1938
Oil on canvas 
25 x 30 in. 
Collection of Geoffrey Campbell Beaumont

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Arthur Beaumont 
Scout Planes from U.S.S. Tennessee, 1935
Watercolor
12 ¾ x 15 ½ in. 
Courtesy of the Porter James Hahn Collection

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Arthur Beaumont 
Raiders Deutschland and Emden, 1939
Ink wash on paper
13 1/8 x 18 ¾ in. 
The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine

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Arthur Beaumont 
U.S.S. California, 1937
Watercolor
18 ¾ x 26 3/8 in. 
Courtesy of the Los Angeles Athletic Club Collection

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Arthur Beaumont 
Battle Cruiser H.M.S. Repulse Parts Company with Giant Warship H.M.S. Hood, 1939
Black ink on paper
10 ¾ x 17 ¾ in. 
The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine

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Arthur Beaumont 
Cease Present Exercise (U.S.S. New Mexico and U.S.S. Arizona), 1938
Watercolor
16 x 20 in. 
Courtesy of Naval History and Heritage Command

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Arthur Beaumont 
Navy Sea Planes, 1941
National Geographic Series
Watercolor 
21 x 32 ½  in. 
Courtesy of the N. Arthur Astor Family Trust

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Arthur Beaumont 
U.S.S. Indianapolis, 1933
Watercolor on Paper
13 x 15 in. 
The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine


 WORLD WAR II

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Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Beaumont’s attention was occupied by several projects that supported the U.S. war effort: painting publicity materials for Wake Island, a war film about the battle; assisting in raising over $80 million for the heavy cruiser, U.S.S. Los Angeles; and continuing to create pro-war images for the National Geographic. Beaumont’s depictions of peacetime naval exercises transitioned into dramatic life or death struggles as the Pacific exploded into a deadly theater.

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Arthur Beaumont 
Japanese Aerial Attack on Wake Island, 1941
Watercolor
18 x 24 in. 
Courtesy of the Laguna Art Museum Collection, Gift of Donald Grant

 8 Bowers Museum Cowboy at the Corral Lassoing a Steer 1 6 1


Arthur Beaumont 
Backbone of Sea Power, 1941
Watercolor on board
30 ¾ x 23 in. 
The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine


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Arthur Beaumont 
Heavy & Light Cruisers Range Far to Scout or Fight; U.S.S. Astoria and U.S.S. Phoenix, 1941
National Geographic Series
Watercolor on board 
22 ½ x 34 in. 
The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine

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Arthur Beaumont 
Fast, Hard-Riding Destroyers Dash from a Smoke Screen to the Attack, 1941
National Geographic Series
Watercolor on board
22 x 34 in. 
The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine

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Arthur Beaumont 
Swift Mosquito Boats Launch Torpedoes at Close Range, Speed Away, 1941
National Geographic Series
Watercolor
22 x 34 in. 
The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine

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Arthur Beaumont 
Planes Roar into Action from the U.S. Aircraft Carriers WASP and Enterprise, 1941
National Geographic Series
Watercolor 
22 x 34 in. 
The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine

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Arthur Beaumont 
U.S. Aircraft Attacking Japanese Warship, 1942
Watercolor 
17 ½ x 21 in. 
Courtesy of the Laguna Art Museum Collection, Gift of Donald Grant

 8 Bowers Museum Cowboy at the Corral Lassoing a Steer 1 6 1


Arthur Beaumont 
Snow Field Training, 1942
National Geographic Series
Watercolor 
26 x 18 ½ in. 
Catherine Campbell Beaumont Collection

 8 Bowers Museum Cowboy at the Corral Lassoing a Steer 1 6 1

 

Arthur Beaumont 
The U.S.S. Midway in Guantanamo Bay, 1945
Watercolor on paper  
14 x 19 in. 
The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine


 BIKINI ATOLL

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Soon after the surrender of Imperial Japan ended World War II, Beaumont was tasked with documenting scenes of the atomic bomb testing at Bikini Atoll in the U.S. Marshall Islands. Refusing protective eyewear so he could better capture the bombs’ awesome destructive power, Arthur Beaumont became the first artist to ever paint a mushroom cloud—and the last to show the surrendered Japanese vessels sunk during the testing.

 8 Bowers Museum Cowboy at the Corral Lassoing a Steer 1 6 1


Arthur Beaumont 
Japanese Battleship Nagato at Bikini Atoll, 1946
Watercolor 
15 ¾ x 20 in. 
The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine

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Arthur Beaumont 
Able Bomb Test at Bikini Atoll of the U.S.S. Fall River, 1946
Watercolor
19 x 13 in. 
The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine

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Arthur Beaumont 
Death of Ignoble Enemy, IJN Nagato, 1946
Watercolor and tempera on paper
16 3/16 x 20 in. 
Loan Courtesy of Bowers Museum, Gift of John E. Seabern

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Arthur Beaumont 
U.S.S. Fall River, Bikini Atoll Baker Bomb Test, July 25, 1946
Watercolor
13 x 17 in. 
Douglas Dreibelbis Collection

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Arthur Beaumont 
Baker Day, Minus One, U.S. Fleet at Bikini, 1946
Watercolor
18 x 21 7/8 in. 
The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine

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Arthur Beaumont 
Japanese Cruiser Sakawa Sinking, 1946
Watercolor
16 ¾ x 19 ¾ in. 
Courtesy of Naval History and Heritage Command

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Arthur Beaumont 
Coconut Cocktail, 1946
Watercolor on paper
17 ¾ x 23 ¾ in. 
The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine


 AFTER THE WAR

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Following World War II, Beaumont continued to travel with and paint for the U.S. Navy. Some of his earliest post-war paintings show official trips to China and Japan, war-struck nations which Beaumont treated with a somber reverence that was rare for the time. While these watercolors are consistent with those he had painted before and during the war, new rounds of naval paintings commissioned for the Korean War and other operations showed evolving military technologies. 

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Arthur Beaumont 
Chinese Waters, 1948
Watercolor
14 x 18 in. 
Jonathan Club Collection

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Arthur Beaumont 
Chinese Junk Boat, 1962
Watercolor
17 1/8 x 23 in. 
Robert Dreibelbis Collection

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Arthur Beaumont 
Evening Patrol of the U.S.S. Essex, 1949
Watercolor
18 x 25 in. 
The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine

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Arthur Beaumont 
U.S.S. Wisconsin, c. 1946
Watercolor on paper
18 x 24 in. 
The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine

 8 Bowers Museum Cowboy at the Corral Lassoing a Steer 1 6 1


Arthur Beaumont 
Nautilus in Building Ways at Electric Boat Company: Birth of the Atomic Navy, 1954
Watercolor
18 ¾ x 24 in. 
Courtesy of Naval History and Heritage Command

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Arthur Beaumont 
Operations off "Yankee Station," Vietnam, U.S.S. Yorktown
Watercolor 
19 7/8 x 25 ½ in. 
Courtesy of the Lawrence and Jane McNeil Collection

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Arthur Beaumont 
War Weary U.S.S. San Diego Returns to Home Port, 1967
Watercolor 
20 x 26 ½ in. 
Courtesy of the Hilbert Museum at Chapman University Permanent Collection, Gift of Drs. James L. and Lynne P. Doti 

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Arthur Beaumont 
The Tonkin Operation, the U.S.S. New Jersey, 1968
Watercolor 
18 x 25 in. 
The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine

 8 Bowers Museum Cowboy at the Corral Lassoing a Steer 1 6 1


Arthur Beaumont 
Carrier Jet Launch
Watercolor 
23 x 29 in. 
Courtesy of the Los Angeles Maritime Museum

 8 Bowers Museum Cowboy at the Corral Lassoing a Steer 1 6 1


Arthur Beaumont 
Destroyer Guard - U.S.S. Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. and U.S.S. John F. Kennedy 
Watercolor 
20 3/8 x 27 in. 
Collection of Geoffrey Campbell Beaumont


 POLES APART

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Beaumont’s travels took him to both ends of the earth. Beginning in 1957 Beaumont embarked on an expedition to traverse the Northwest Passage, a water route across the Americas which had been a goal of international explorers for well over a hundred years. During this trip Beaumont took a flight to the North Pole. Two years later the artist travelled to Antarctica as an official artist for a U.S. expedition to the South Pole.

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Arthur Beaumont 
Searching for a lead, Arctic, 1957
Watercolor
16 ½ x 21 in. 
Courtesy of the Laurie McLennan Collection

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Arthur Beaumont 
U.S.S. Glacier and U.S.S. Arneb, Antarctica, 1973
Watercolor
18 x 23 ¾ in. 
Courtesy of the Los Angeles Maritime Museum

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Arthur Beaumont 
U.S.S. Glacier, Antarctica, November 1960
Watercolor
18 x 23 ¼ in. 
Collection of Geoffrey Campbell Beaumont

 8 Bowers Museum Cowboy at the Corral Lassoing a Steer 1 6 1


Arthur Beaumont 
Relief of McMurdo, 1959
Watercolor
18 ½  x 24 in. 
The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine


ADDITIONAL CONTENT
AVAILABLE ONLINE ONLY

Image

Arthur Beaumont sketching on the deck of the USS Midway, November 1945
Beaumont Family Archives

Watercolors for Water’s Colors

In Beaumont’s earliest works he used oil paints on board or canvas to create thick, impressionistic scenes. As he continued to study painting and developed as an artist, he explored different mediums such as ink pens and—following many painters active in the Southern California area—watercolors. The portability of the materials and the spontaneous nature of the method made the medium perfect for the dynamic conditions of the sea. Beaumont also enjoyed the challenge of this new medium. With oil paints mistakes could easily be painted over, but even Beaumont’s quickest watercolors took a minimum of four hours to complete and one mistake was enough to ruin the entire work. Painting with watercolors quickly became the artist’s preference. Beaumont only returned to oil paints on rare occasions after transitioning to watercolors.

Bowers Museum Permanent Collection Beaumont Artworks

In addition to the two Bowers Museum paintings on display in Arthur Beaumont: Art of the Sea, the Bowers Museum also happens to have a large collection of Beaumont paintings in the museum’s permanent collections. These depict both Beaumont’s characteristic naval artworks as well as the other varied subjects he painted throughout his career.

Dorothy Tennant, Arthur Beaumont’s wife, was originally from Santa Ana, California, making the Bowers Museum a natural repository for these prints, watercolors and oil paintings donated by descendants and close associates of the artist.

For more information on the Bowers Museum’s Beaumont paintings, follow the below links to the Bowers Blog:

Arthur Edwaine Beaumont and the Story Behind “The Red Bathing Suit”

  • Beaumont’s early history, time spent in Bikini Atoll for “Operation Crossroads” and the backstory behind the first bikini swimsuit.

Beaumont and Los Angeles' Chinatowns

  • Los Angeles’ little-known and short-lived China City painted by Beaumont in 1949.

A Mission Impossible: Arthur Edwaine Beaumont’s Carmel Mission

  • Intrigue behind a watercolor of the Carmel Mission painted by Beaumont as a larger series of magazine covers for the Jonathan Club.

Cheating Death with Arthur Beaumont

  • The artist’s many narrow misses with the hereafter, recounted alongside images from the exhibition.  
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Arthur Beaumont: Art of the Sea is curated by James Irvine Swinden and includes works in The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine.

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