Beatrice Seddon nee Wood was born in Christchurch 1889. She attended Rangi Ruru Girls' School. At finishing school in England her quick mind was rewarded when she gained entrance to Oxford University.

When the First World War broke out Beatrice was in England so she joined the Aotearoa Club at Codford on the Salisbury Plains. This was a voluntary group who looked after the soldiers who had returned from France. Her diary of this time is full of impressions of people and her observations of beauty in the countryside all around her. During this time Beatrice continued to paint watercolours and was fortunate enough to receive lessons from friend Frances Hodgkins.

In 1919, Beatrice organized art classes which Hodgkins was to teach in. The art classes were attended by small groups of women in a small village in Oxfordshire and Hodgkins ended up teaching there for two months.

She returned to New Zealand and married Tom Seddon, Liberal Member for the West Coast, and son of Prime Minister Richard Seddon. She raised three children and continued to paint, teaching her children much about art appreciation. She was a long time member of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts (1921 - 1972). Her work is represented in the Turnbull Library and at Te Papa Tongarewa.