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Chouinard, London and Paris:1920-1932
With marriage and the prospect of family life, Beau pursued his career
with fervor. In Los Angeles he took classes at the School of Art and Design. He studied
with Stanton MacDonald-Wright, whom he credits with teaching him how to portray
action in paintings. By 1921 he was enrolled in classes at the Chouinard School of
Art. When Mrs. Chouinard offered him a scholarship to study in Europe in 1925, he knew the
experience would provide the training necessary to ensure a successful career. Reluctantly
leaving Dorothy and their two small children, he returned to England.
The Slade School of Art of the University of London was one of the finest art schools in the world. There Beau studied under many famous masters including Sir William Russell Flint, Sir Frank Brangwyn and Augustus John...all Royal Academicians. He chose portraiture as his specialty, though he also trained in mural and watercolor painting, lithography, etching, and sculpture. Evenings, he would sketch at the Municipal School of Art, practicing the day's lessons. The aspiring artist lived in comfort at the chic Savage Club, where a family friend had obtained for him a guest membership. There he met many wonderful people, including the famous Arctic explorer Roald Amundsen and British Field Marshall Sir Henry Wilson.
Arriving at the club one evening, Beau found the haughty doorman saluting him and exclaiming, "A letter from Royalty, Sir! A letter from Royalty!"5 Startled by the doorman's words, Beau opened the envelope with the royal crest and formal black edges to find an invitation to view the royal art collection at Windsor Castle with the Chief Librarian. On the appointed day, dressed in his finest suit, he took the train to Windsor.
Having very little money, he traveled third class. He made his way to the castle on foot, not noticing a chauffeured car that had been sent for him. The Librarian met Beau and offered him morning tea before their tour began. Enthralled by the original paintings, lithographs, steelpoints, drawings, and other works by the world's famous masters, Beau lost track of time. The Librarian invited him to lunch and additionally to dinner, realizing that this student's eagerness to see and study all the incredible art was not easily satiated. Beau did not leave the castle until the last possible moment to catch the final London-bound train. Seeing the Royal Collection made an everlasting impression on his life.
In the winter of 1925-1926, Beau was invited to work in Paris as a studio apprentice with artist/sculptor Hunt Diederich. What adventurous young person could resist Paris in the Twenties! In a letter to Dorothy dated December 17, 1925, Beau explains, "It is a fine chance to study in Paris as Diederich's designs are just in my line...the work will be good for me...there will be forge work and welding and a chance to learn a good profession!"6 Besides Diederich, Beau studied under many renowned teachers, including Jules Pages and Jean-Paul Laurens.
He lived--where else?--in the Quartier Latin on the Left Bank. Some days were spent studying at the Academie Julian. Evenings he sketched at the Academie Colarossi or the Academie de la Grand Chaumiere. To help make ends meet, Beau solicited commercial work, but with little success. Free time he spent at the Louvre. To Dorothy, he commented "[it] is really a wearisome undertaking visiting, studying there...although of course so very interesting. I discover something different every time I go- today Rubens, Botticelli, Da Vinci, Corot, Messonier, Fragonard paintings. Michelangelo paintings and sculpture, these I had not seen before!"7
Academie Julian, 1926,
In Spain, Holland and Brussels he viewed master works in famous museums and gallery collections. Holland's noted maritime treasures particularly impressed this future marine specialist. In Amsterdam he studied briefly at the Riis School and in Brussels, at L' Ecole des Beaux Artes.
At last, in the summer of 1926, Beau returned to his "honey wife and chickadees."8 Taking passage on a Cunard liner, he sailed to New York, then through the Panama Canal to Los Angeles, where the family feted his homecoming. From the moment of his return, Beau found enough commercial art work to support his family, although Dot, a school administrator, continued to work as well. In 1927 and 1928 Beau also taught at the Chouinard School of Art.
The late 1920s and early 1930s represent Beaumont's impressionist period. Most works were executed in oil on canvas or board. Landscapes of mountain scenes, such as Arroyo Seco, and South Lake, High Sierras, Bishop, are impressionistic. These works illustrate Beau's little known early style, which ties him to the California plein air school. Another example, The Little Mother, took first popular prize at the Long Beach Art Association's show in 1931. As Beau's recognition grew, his style evolved. His focus became portraiture and maritime art, and he began to paint in watercolor, a more portable medium, with greater frequency.
Beau, the plein air artist
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Biography written by Allison Barrett Beaumont
Laguna Beach, California
April 1989