13 Facts About Chester Beach

Chester A Beach was an American sculptor who was known for his busts and medallic art.

Chester Beach studied initially at the California School of Mechanical Arts and worked as a jewelry designer immediately afterward, while continuing his art studies at the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art.

Chester Beach returned to the US in 1907 and quickly gained a following for his representations of allegorical and mythical figures.

Chester Beach was elected to the National Sculpture Society, the Salmagundi Club and the American Numismatic Society.

Chester Beach was later selected for the National Institute of Arts and Letters.

In 1910, Beach married Eleanor Hollis Murdock, whom he had met while in France.

Chester Beach engraved the Hawaii Sesquicentennial half dollar, which was designed by Juliette May Fraser and issued in 1928, and designed the 1935 commemorative Hudson Sesquicentennial half dollar.

Chester Beach's work was part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the 1928 Summer Olympics.

Chester Beach was president of the National Sculpture Society from 1926 to 1927 and taught at the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design and the Grand Central School of Art.

Chester Beach received the Numismatic Society's Saltus Medal in 1946 for his medallic work.

In 1917 Chester Beach built a studio in Brewster, New York on 10 acres of land he acquired in trade from a local farmer for two sculptures.

Chester Beach built an additional cottage on the property in 1947 known as "The Camp".

Chester Beach died on August 6,1956, in Brewster, New York.