Christopher Beaumont (born 1961) is an Australian

still life A still life (: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, human-m ...

painter. His paintings are in many institutional, corporate, and private collections.

Early life and education

Christopher Beaumont was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

in 1961.Bendigo Art Gallery: Christopher Beaumont
Bendigo Art Gallery. In 1983 Beaumont studied for a MB., BS. degree from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

(1983). In 1984, he also received a diploma in

art and design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

from the Prahran College of Advanced Education, taking life drawing and painting classes with Howard Arkley. He graduated with a BFA in painting & sculpture from the

Victorian College of the Arts The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the arts school at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It is part of the university's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music (FFAM). It is located near the Melbourne city centre on the Southbank campus ...

in 1987. He also holds a graduate diploma in multimedia software Development from the

Swinburne University of Technology The Swinburne University of Technology (or simply Swinburne) is a public university, public research university in Melbourne, Australia. It is the modern descendant of the Eastern Suburbs Technical College established in 1908, renamed Swinburne ...

Career

In 1988 Beaumont participated in the large group exhibition ''Site of Execution'' at the

Australian Centre for Contemporary Art The Australian Centre For Contemporary Art (ACCA) is a contemporary art gallery in Melbourne, Australia. The gallery is located on Sturt Street in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, in the inner suburb of Southbank, Victoria, Southbank. Designed by W ...

. In 1989 he joined Bruce Pollard's

Pinacotheca A pinacotheca (Latin calque, borrowing from = + ) was a picture gallery in either ancient Greece or ancient Rome. The name is specifically used for the building containing pictures which formed the left wing of the Propylaea (Acropolis of Athen ...

Gallery in Richmond and travelled to Europe: Amsterdam, Athens, Taormina, Naples, Rome and Paris. Pollard retired a few years later and he joined the Botanical Gallery, directed by Sue Corlett in

South Yarra South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a populati ...

. The gallery later became Scope gallery when it moved to Brunswick Street, Fitzroy.

Recognition and awards

He participates in many Australian art exhibitions, and has won multiple awards.Eva Breuer
, art dealer In 1989 he was a finalist in the Moet et Chandon Touring Exhibition prize, acquired by the Margaret Stewart Endowment for the

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited art mu ...

. In 1994 he shared the Conrad Jupiters Art Prize with Guan Wei. That same year he was invited to exhibit with Eva Breuer in Woollarhra, New South Wales. In 2004, he was finalist in the Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize, and was the People's Choice winner of the Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize,

Bendigo Art Gallery Bendigo Art Gallery is an Australian art gallery located in Bendigo, Victoria. It is one of the oldest and largest regional art galleries. History The gallery was founded in 1887. The gallery's collection was first housed in the former Bendig ...

. This involved a solo exhibition which was staged in 2006 at The Bendigo Art Gallery followed by a solo exhibition at Eva Breuer's gallery later that year. In 2014 he was invited by

Fortyfivedownstairs fortyfivedownstairs is a not-for-profit theatre and gallery in Melbourne, Australia. Located on the lower floors of a brick nineteenth century building in Flinders Lane, fortyfivedownstairs showcases visual art, independent theatre and live ...

in Flinders Lane, Melbourne to be Artist in Residence and staged an exhibition of paintings commissioned across the previous two decades alongside new works produced during the residency. Other prizes include: * Hans and Sylvia Sumberg Prize (VCA, 1987) * St Kilda City Council Prize (1992; non acquisitive) * Sweet Design Acquisitive Prize - Linden Postcard Show, St Kilda (1999) * Art Spectrum Finest Artist Colours Prize, Linden Postcard Show, St Kilda (2000)

Art practice

Beaumont's work is influenced by Spanish masters of the early 17th century, particularly

Juan Sánchez Cotán Juan Sánchez Cotán (June 25, 1560 – September 8, 1627) was a Spanish Baroque painting, Spanish Baroque painter, a pioneer of realism in Spain. His still lifes and ''bodegón, bodegones'' were painted in an austere style, especially when com ...

and

Francisco de Zurbarán Francisco de Zurbarán ( , ; baptized 7 November 1598 – 27 August 1664) was a Spanish painter. He is known primarily for his religious paintings depicting monks, nuns, and martyrs, and for his still-lifes. Zurbarán gained the nickname "Spanis ...

. He typically works in oil paint on linen, painting common vegetables or other market produce, often with a dark background and modernist, post-modern elements.

External links

*
Christopher Beaumont
on All About Art Schools website (archived 2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaumont, Christopher Australian still life painters Victorian College of the Arts alumni Swinburne University of Technology alumni Painters from Melbourne 1961 births Living people