Reynolds Beal attended Cornell University from 1885 to 1887, studying mechanical and marine engineering. He had been working for several years at Morgan Iron Works when his health failed. He made his first sketches during a recuperative trip through Newfoundland. On his return, he enrolled at the Art Students League, but after studying only a few weeks--under John Twatchman--left. Like his younger brother, Gifford, it was from William Merritt Chase that he received most of his artistic training. From 1890 to 1892, he attended Chase's New York School of Art, spent four summers at his Shinnecock School, and was in the group of students Chase led to Spain and Holland in 1902. He enrolled in the life class at the National Academy School in 1892, and also studied with Henry Ward Ranger.
The prevailing subject matter of Beal's paintings is the sea. Beal responded to the Academy's request for biographical information: "what really interests me more than anything else is sailing yachts, especially racing yachts." Throughout his life, he sailed his floating studio to exotic locations in search of subjects, eventually visiting Africa, Central America, the West Indies, India, Australia, the Orient.
