“Destroyer Guard” from the collection of Geoffrey Campbell Beaumont Courtesy photo
The Maine Maritime Museum’s newest exhibit — “Arthur Beaumont: Art of the Sea” — opens Friday, running through June 5, 2022. The display celebrates Beaumont’s time as the U.S. Navy’s official artist, showcasing over 50 paintings and drawings from the artist’s more than 50-year career.
Appointed as the official artist of the United States Fleet, Beaumont received his commission as a lieutenant in the United States Navy in 1933. He served in an official capacity and as a freelance artist for the Navy until his death 45 years later, in 1978. The Maine Maritime Museum’s exhibition is on loan from the Irvine Museum in California. To complement the exhibit, Irvine Museum President James Swinden will present a gallery talk and exploration of works on Friday, December 10 at 12 pm EST. Swinden’s talk is free with museum admission.
“This exhibit highlights the work of an artist whose career spanned pivotal decades in American history,” said Paul Fuller, assistant curator at the Maine Maritime Museum. “Beaumont’s paintings captured naval vessels in action, bringing them much more to life than typical ship portraits. Beyond his vessel paintings, his works showcase a rapidly changing world; the creation of the atomic bomb, arctic exploration through the northwest passage and coastal scenes that are drastically different today. Beaumont’s work shows a world in change through the nuclear age and global warming. I find his art, especially within that context, fascinating.”
Maine Maritime Museum is a nonprofit institution dedicated to promoting an understanding and appreciation of Maine’s maritime heritage. Founded in 1962, the museum’s campus covers 20 acres on the Kennebec River in historic Bath. Call (207) 443-1316 or visit mainemaritimemuseum.org for more information.
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