The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (SBMM) will present Geoffrey Campbell Beaumont in a talk about his father Arthur Beaumont’s life and work as the U.S. Navy’s official Artist of the Fleet, 7 p.m. Thursday, April 15 via Zoom.

The event is free but registration is required at https://sbmm.org/santa-barbara-events/. Donations welcome.

Arthur Beaumont: Art of the Sea — an exhibit of 53 paintings chronicling the accomplishments of the U.S. Navy, from the USS Constitution to atomic bomb tests and expeditions to the North and South poles — will be at SBMM until the end of May, the last show on the West Coast before it leaves for the East Coast.

In his address, Geoffrey Beaumont will share personal stories of the various paintings in the exhibit, and provide viewers with his insight into the art and the artist.

Arthur Beaumont used Impressionist techniques in painting the images, and in capturing the majesty of the oceans and the vessels that sail them.

In addition to the paintings, the show will be accompanied by a book of his life and art, also titled “Arthur Beaumont: Art of the Sea,” written by Geoffrey Beaumont and published by the Irvine Museum in Irvine, California.

Arthur Beaumont (1890-1978) was born in Norfolk County, England, and came to the U.S. in 1908 to study art at Berkeley, before moving to Los Angeles and opening his first commercial art studio in 1917.

After studying further with other artists in the U.S. and Europe, and teaching art and watercolor painting, Beaumont received a commission as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy and became the Artist of the Fleet in 1933.

Thus began his lifelong work of depicting naval vessels in various settings and states of preparedness through World War II, nuclear bomb testing, the Korean War, in Vietnam; and naval missions to China, Japan, Alaska and Antarctica; as well as Revolutionary War-era sailing vessels and portraits of prominent naval officers.

SBMM is at the Santa Barbara Harbor, 113 Harbor Way, Ste. 190, Santa Barbara. Visit sbmm.org or call 805-962-8404 for details.

Event sponsor is Marie Morrisroe.