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The Latter Years: 1962-1978
In 1964 he began painting a series of Revolutionary War sailing ships which occupied him for the next ten
years. It is some of his best work, reminiscent of the first ship portraits he executed in
the early 1930s. Like his contemporary, British artist Montague Dawson, Beaumont depicted
traditional maritime subjects including the USS Constellation and the USS Constitution Beau also executed a commission of twenty-four ship
portraits for the National Steel Company between 1970 and 1973. Beau was honored with a
retrospective exhibition in 1976 at the Laguna Beach Museum of Art, just two years before
he passed away The show of 127 works chronicling the years 1931 to 1976 was well received.
An excerpt from the museum brochure reads "Today, as we honor this Artist Laureate of
the Fleet, Mr. Beaumont continues to research with acute perception and produce with
unwavering quality historically significant commissions," 26 In the winter of his
eighty-seventh year, Beau's strength waned. Hospitalized after a heart attack, he enjoyed
the visits of relatives and his many friends. Often people requested autographs, but soon
he was unable to sign his name. Realizing he could no longer paint, he lost his will to
live. On January 23, 1978, Beau passed away, survived by his wife, four children, thirteen
grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.
Learning of Beau's death, his good friend, Admiral
Arleigh Burke, wrote to Dot:
Great talent is given to but few men, and Beau gained the respect and
admiration of his peers by his great paintings. But he also gained even more ardent
admiration from those of us who were not expert in his difficult field, but who, as
sailors realized that Beau put the spirit of the sea into his paintings as it is felt and
cannot be expressed by those who go down to the sea in ships. Beau loved the sea and his
work showed it. He loved the Navy as few men do, and Navy people in generations to come
will be grateful to him for his inspiring paintings....He was beloved for his personal
characteristics... .He was a man of great integrity coupled with unusual understanding. He
was a great man. He will be sorely missed. 27
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Biography written by Allison Barrett Beaumont
Laguna Beach, California
April 1989
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