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The Early Years: 1890-1920
North Sea winds still blow inland to Thorpe-St. Andrew, England, where
this adventurous maritime artist was born Arthur Edwin Crabbe on March 25, 1890. Arthur
was the fourth of five children born to Moses Samuel Crabbe and Sarah Jane Belderson.
Moses, a medical attendant, served in the British Military in India for 17 years. His
wife, a trained nurse, was expert in fine sewing and embroidery. With the advantage of
extra income from the sale of Sarah's crafts, the children had a better education than
normally would have been possible. A novice artist, Sarah encouraged her children to draw
and paint. Family legend has it that Arthur sketched his first fishing schooner at
Yarmouth at age four. However, the oldest painting in the family, depicting a railway
scene near their home, dates back to 1906.
Educated at home by a governess/tutor until he was nine
or ten years old, Arthur entered the Holt School, aspiring to become an architect. He
dreamt of building castles like those nestled in the English countryside. However,
architecture requirements proved too stringent and engineering classes too difficult for a
student poor in math. He was graduated from Holt in 1908 with a baccalaureate degree and a
yearning for adventure.
Enticed by a job offer in Saskatchewan, Arthur and his friend, George
Barclay Stone, embarked on a Canadian liner bound for Quebec, only to discover their
destination lay far from their place of landing. Not discouraged, they continued their
journey westward by train. Upon arrival at Humboldt, the closest station to the ranch
owned by an Army friend of Arthur's father, they were shocked to find "no real roads
and no real houses!"3
The city boys adapted quickly, although learning to ride Western style caused them
discomfort for some time. Both young men soon traded their proper English jodhpurs and
riding boots for cowboy gear.
Ranch life was exhilarating. Arthur's distinctive accent and keen wit
amused the other workers, and he quickly made friends. The days consisted of riding and
the chores of cattle-raising. The expansive prairie land imprinted its influence on
Arthur. He sketched all aspects of ranch life which later appeared in his
impressionist-style paintings of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Only the frigid winter
discouraged Arthur from lengthening his stay.
In 1909 after almost a year on the ranch, Arthur decided to head south
for the sunny climate in Oakland, California, where his older brother Will and his wife
May were living. By this time Arthur knew he wanted to study art. With the serendipitous
help of friends, he enrolled at the San Francisco Institute of Art, located on Nob Hill.
He commuted to San Francisco from Oakland by ferry to reach the school and the odd jobs he
pursued in order to pay expenses.
Further ranch adventures lay ahead. Summer vacation in 1910 found
Arthur working a good ranch job near Klamath Falls, Oregon. Around the Fourth of July he
fell ill while en route to a rodeo. A local doctor diagnosed typhoid fever. With no
hospitals in the vicinity, Arthur was quarantined in an old man's house nearby, where an
Indian woman looked after him. Few people survived the fever in those days, so he received
little attention save the physician's periodic visits. Weeks later, certain he would die
if he remained there a moment longer, he summoned his strength and escaped into town. All
of his money had been stolen. A German settler and his family took pity and cared for him
until he had recuperated sufficiently to make the return journey to California.
After his miraculous recovery, Arthur traveled to the American River in
the High Sierras, where his brother Will, an electrical engineer, ran the power plant.
Arthur worked at the plant for about a year. In 1912 another ranch job lured him to the
San Joaquin valley. At Miller and Lux his cowboy skills earned him the nickname
"Bronco Pete" and advancement to assistant superintendent of the Eastside Ranch.
The West was still relatively untamed in those days. "Bronco Pete" uncovered
clandestine cattle rustling and supply stealing by the Perini brothers. He informed the
authorities. The Perini's declared a vendetta on Pete and a serious assault ensued,
leaving him severely injured. The Perini brothers were eventually arrested and convicted,
but fearful of further attempts on his life, "Bronco Pete" fled to San
Francisco.
Although details are not clear, around 1915 "Bronco Pete"
changed his name to Arthur Edwaine Beaumont-Crabbe, perhaps to keep the villains
from tracking him down. Or perhaps he chose the name Beaumont for its meaning,
"beautiful mountain" in reference to his cowboy days. The truth remains a
mystery. Later he made the change official and henceforth was Arthur Edwaine Beaumont.
Meanwhile, odd jobs he held during World War I brought "Beau"
as he came to be called, to Los Angeles. The move set him on the course of his artistic
career and introduced him to the girl he married. A construction worker at the Los Angeles
Bible Institute in 1915, Beau fell for the beautiful young Dorothy Dean, whose father
owned the Bible Bookstore. They're four year courtship
culminated in their marriage on April 4, 1919. One job took Beau to the port of San Pedro,
a perfect place to sketch marine activity. A single miniature painting dating to 1916
remains, demonstrating his affinity for ships and his considerable talent.
In 1917 Beau opened his first commercial art studio and from that point
forward pursued art as a career. Success was not immediate by any means. He recalls,
"After one month on the job, I had only made five dollars, not even enough to pay one
month's rent!" 4
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Biography written by Allison Barrett Beaumont
Laguna Beach, California
April 1989
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