Donald Beauregard was born in Fillmore, Utah in 1884. A modernist painter, his paintings are full of rich color. He died before his thirtieth birthday in Fillmore, Utah in 1914.

Beginning in 1901, Beauregard studied for two years at Brigham Young University. He continued his study at the University of Utah with Edwin Evans from 1903 to 1906 and became Evans's assistant in 1905. Beauregard was a student of Paul Laurens at the Académie Julian where he became familiar with the works of Gaugin and Cezanne. While Beauregard was at the Julian, he won first prize in technical composition.

Beauregard's painting reveals his love of rich brilliant color. In 100 Years of Utah Painting, James Haseltine refers to Beauregard's work as “muscular art”. Beauregard's painting Artist's Father Clearing Sagebrush is an example of his powerful painting style. In 1910, Frank Springer, commissioned Beauregard to paint six 10' x 12' murals depicting the life of St. Francis of Assisi for the 1915 San Diego Panama-Pacific exposition. While Beauregard was researching and studying the life of St. Francis, he became seriously ill. He was only able to finish two of the murals. The remaining four murals were completed by another artist, Carlos Vierra.

Biographical information on this page was adapted from the Springville Museum of Art.

Donald Beauregard was born 1884 in Fillmore, Utah, the son of a rancher. His family recognized his artistic talent early, and he had his first art lesson at the age of eleven by an eastern teacher who was visiting central Utah. Beauregard felt confined in Fillmore, and in 1900, he left town, wandering for a while and then ending up at Brigham Young University. He studied there until 1903. During this year, he left B.Y.U. and continued his education at the University of Utah, studying under Edwin Evans for three years and becoming his assistant in 1904. In 1906, Beauregard graduated from the University with high honors. Evans said, “He was a brilliant student who excelled in every phase of academic work.“ Beauregard demonstrated his versatility by winning honors in art, oration, and debate.

In this same year of 1906, he saved his money until he could afford to travel to Europe, where he studied at the Academie Julian in Paris. While in Paris, Beauregard won many prizes for his work, including a first prize, with the work becoming part of the school's permanent collection. He financed his stay by writing special features and by drawing cartoons for newspapers. Beauregard made many discoveries about art while in Paris. At first, he followed Monet and the Impressionists and traveled and painted in Flanders. Later, he looked to Gauguin and Cezanne and began to incorporate cubist ideas into his expressionist landscapes.

In 1908, he returned to Utah and became the Director of Art in the Ogden City School District. Before going to Europe, Beauregard had won first prize in the Utah Art Institute Exhibit, and in 1909, after his return, he again won first prize. This second award helped him get a job as an illustrator for Western Monthly magazine and as correspondent for The Deseret News. Summer archaeology work led eventually to contact with Frank Springer, a wealthy New Mexico art patron, who became Beauregard's sponsor. Springer bought some of Beauregard's paintings and financed his second trip to Europe, where he spent the entire trip painting and sketching in Spain, France, and Germany. These paintings sold well to Europeans, and after his return, to Americans.

After Beauregard returned, Springer commissioned him to do six 10' x 12' murals representing the life of St. Francis of Assisi for the 1915 San Diego Panama Pacific Exposition. Beauregard took a scholarly approach to his work and researched and wrote essays on each phase. He was able to finish two of the panels (The Conversion of St. Francis and The Apotheosis of St. Francis) and the preliminary designs for the other four before he fell seriously ill and was forced by a lack of strength to abandon the project. Donald Beauregard died at his parents' home shortly before his thirtieth birthday. The majority of Donald Beauregard's works, including the Assisi murals, were donated by Frank Springer to the Museum of New Mexico.

Living such a short life, Beauregard did not have time to fully develop his artistic talents, but he did develop a unique style of painting. His work incorporated both impressionism and cubism, and his thick, bold strokes and bright, rich colors have been called “muscular art“ because of their sheer power and strong character. His painting Artist's Father Clearing Sagebrush is one of the best examples of his “muscular“ style. The intense colors and powerful brush strokes he employed illustrate the back-breaking ranching work depicted. The viewer can almost feel Donald's father clutching the whip and cracking it down.

Working from Dawn till Dusk, Near Fillmore demonstrates Beauregard's use of simplification of elements. The painting is “uncluttered, direct, and unambiguous, yet enigmatic.“ He used broad and fluid brush strokes and a tonalist approach: no element is more dominant than another by more than half. Like Artist's Father Clearing Sagebrush, this painting also conveys the stark reality of farm life.

Biography courtesy Springville Museum of Art

Newspaper Articles

"For Museum Of Fine Arts, A Tour De Force." The Santa Fe New Mexican, June 8, 2002.

Books

Dawdy, Doris. Artists of the American West: A Biographical Dictionary. Chicago, IL: Sage Books, 1990.

Davenport, Ray. Davenport's Art Reference. Ventura, CA: Davenport's Art Reference, 2001.

Dunbier, Lonnie Pierson, ed. The Artists Bluebook: 29,000 North American Artists. Scottsdale, AZ: AskART.com, 2003.

Falk, Peter Hastings. Who Was Who in American Art, 1564-1975: 400 Years of Artists in America. Madison, CT: Sound View Press, 1999.

Falk, Peter Hastings. Who Was Who in American Art: Compiled from the Original thirty-four Volumes of American Art Annual--Who's Who in Art, Biographies of American Artists Active from 1898-1947. Madison, CT: Sound View Press, 1985.

Gerdts, William H. Art Across America: Two Centuries of Regional Painting, 1710-1920. New York, NY: Abbeville Press, 1990.

Harmsen, Dorothy. American Western Art: a Collection of One Hundred twenty-five Western Paintings and Sculpture with Biographies of the Artists. Madison, WI: Lakeside Press, 1977.

Haseltine James L. 100 years of Utah painting: selected works from the 1840s to the 1940s. Salt Lake City, UT: Salt Lake Art Center, 1965.

Mallett, Daniel Trowbridge. Index of Artists, International-Biographical; Including Painters, Sculptors, Illustrators, Engravers and Etchers of the Past and the Present. New York, NY: P. Smith, 1948.

New Mexico Museum of Fine Arts. Paintings by Donald Beauregard. Santa Fe, NM: New Mexico Museum of Fine Art, 1964.

Olpin, Robert S., William C. Seifrit, and Vern G. Swanson. Artists of Utah. Salt Lake City, UT: Gibbs Smith Publisher, 1999.

Samuels, Peggy and Harold Samuels. The Illustrated Biographical Encyclopedia of Artists of the American West. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1976.

Swanson, Vern G., Robert S. Olpin, and William C. Seifrit. Utah Art. Layton, UT: Peregrine Smith Books, 1992.

Springville Museum of Art. Permanent Collection Catalog. Springville, UT: Springville Museum of Art, 1972.

Swanson, Vern G., Robert S. Olpin, Donna Poulton, and Janie Rogers. 150 Years Survey of Utah Art, Utah Artists. Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith Publisher, 2001.

Swanson, Vern G., Robert S. Olpin, and William C. Seifrit. Utah Painting and Sculpture. Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith Publisher, 1991.