George Beattie (1919-1985)

George Beattie was born in Cleveland, Ohio and attended the Cleveland School of Art. Known for landscape, genre, and murals, he was active within the state of Georgia. An art educator, Beattie exhibited at the Cress Gallery at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga; the Art Institute of Chicago; and has works in the collection of the Montclair Art Museum; High Museum of Art; Georgia Museum of Art; and Whitney Museum of American Art. In Macon, Georgia, a cycle of the artist's murals depicts regional history themes in the U.S. Federal Post Office building. 

In the manner of Social Realism of the 1930s and 40s, Beattie depicted a woman in casual beach attire on the pier at Tybee Island, a resort community located close to Savannah. A skillful watercolorist, Beattie conveys the sea breeze gently blowing through the woman's sheer dress and the strong contrasts of reflected light and shadow typical of the coastal atmosphere. VAL