Chabaud was born in Nîmes. He began studying arts in Avignon, aged 14. In 1899, he went to Paris and continued studying arts. In his early phase, his paintings were fauvistic. In 1919, he moved to the village of Graveson and stayed there for the rest of his life. Since 1920, he only used Prussian blue for his paintings. In 1955, he died in Graveson. The "Musée Auguste Chabaud" was opened in this village in 1992.