Coming in 2023: Arthur Beaumont’s “Art of the Sea”.
The first traveling exhibit after the Museum’s renovations are complete will be “Arthur Beaumont’s Art of the Sea”
“Art of the Sea” is curated by James Irvine Swinden and includes works from the Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine as well as the Los Angeles Maritime Museum. For 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, 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 these historic events are recorded in his paintings.
Beaumont’s body of work encompasses 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.