On January 28th Mrs. Carol Henry, Geoffrey Beaumont, and members of Beaumont's family joined Grafton Tanquary, Joe Baratta and William Pinney in the Jonathan Club's Beaumont Room. This luncheon was produced in gratitude to Mrs. Henry and her family for lending the Arthur Beaumont painting, The Atlantic Battle 1943-1945: USS Bogue, to the Club.
Warner and Carol Henry were married in 1966 and were business leaders and prominent philanthropists in Southern California. Warner passed away on August 1, 2020.
Warner’s parents, Warner “Pop” Henry, and his wife, Fran Henry, were close friends of the Naval artist Arthur Beaumont (1890-1978). Arthur’s son, Geoffrey, was a lifelong friend of Warner Henry.
The USS Bogue was the lead ship in the Bogue class of escort carrier in the United States Navy during WWII. The ship was named for Bogue Sound in North Carolina. She was part of an effective force, where aircraft operating from the Bogue or ships escorting the carrier, protected shipping from submarine attack.
Pop Henry served on the USS Bogue in the North Atlantic in 1943 and 1944. Fran Warner commissioned Arthur Beaumont (also known as “Beau,”) to create the painting as a birthday present for her husband. Pop hung it proudly in his office at the Henry Company until his passing. Warner succeeded his father at the Henry Company, and the painting hung there until he sold the company and took the painting to his home. After Warner passed away, his wife, Carol generously lent the painting to the Jonathan Club to hang in the Beaumont Room until April of next year. Thereafter, it will be returned to the family.
This painting is one of the more than 1,000 watercolor paintings of US Navy ships created by Arthur Beaumont in his 46 years as “Artist of the Fleet,” a designation given to him by his patron, Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy.
Arthur painted in watercolor, as the US Navy deemed the use of traditional artist oil paints to be a fire hazard at sea. The subjects of his paintings were mainly of US Navy ships and portraits of their captains. His expertise in capturing the magnificent turmoil of the oceans on which his subjects operated is a lasting creative legacy.