Louis Macouillard (September 8, 1913 – November 26, 1987) was an American artist known for his watercolor paintings of travel and marine genres, as well as his work as a commercial illustrator.

Biography

Louis Macouillard was born on September 8, 1913, in San Francisco, California. He graduated from San Francisco Polytechnic High School and the California Guild of Arts and Crafts (CCAC) in 1934. After graduation, he continued his studies in New York City at the Art Students League of New York (ASL). Later on, he returned to San Francisco to work at the Velvetone Poster Company, as an

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

. He served in the US Navy in the South Pacific during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. While serving in the Navy he produced many artworks showcasing his travels, which he mailed to his fiancée, and which were then featured in a six-page spread and cover of the October 1943 issue of

Life (magazine) ''Life'' (stylized as ''LIFE'') is an American magazine launched in 1883 as a weekly publication. In 1972, it transitioned to publishing "special" issues before running as a monthly from 1978 to 2000. Since then, ''Life'' has irregularly publi ...

. Macouillard designed two postage stamps, one of them being the commemorative 6¢ US postage stamp of

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (, 1734September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyo ...

issued in September 1968. In 1963 Macouillard designed a mosaic mural that adorns a

mid-century modern Mid-century modern (MCM) is a movement in interior design, product design, graphic design, architecture and urban development that was present in all the world, but more popular in North America, Brazil and Europe from roughly 1945 to 197 ...

bank at 300 S. El Camino Real,

San Mateo, California San Mateo ( ) is the most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. It is part of the San Francisco Bay Area metropolitan region, and is located about south of San Francisco. San Mateo border ...

. The mural was constructed by Alfonso Pardiñas of Byzantine Mosaics. It tells the story of

A. P. Giannini Amadeo Pietro Giannini (), also known as Amadeo Peter Giannini or A. P. Giannini (May 6, 1870 – June 3, 1949) was an American banker who founded the Bank of Italy, which eventually became Bank of America (1904-1998), Bank of America. Giannini is ...

, the founder of

Bank of Italy The Bank of Italy (Italian language, Italian: ''Banca d'Italia'', , informally referred to as ''Bankitalia'') is the National central bank (Eurosystem), national central bank for Italy within the Eurosystem. It was the Italian central bank from ...

, and features bold, bright colored and features childlike illustrations in five panels, 25-foot-high. His work is featured in the permanent collection at Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF), and the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM; formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds one of the world's lar ...

. One of his etchings is featured in a scrapbook collage by artist Xavier Martinez and is part of the permanent collection at the

Oakland Museum of California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

Personal

Macouillard married Grace Macouillard (née Harrison) in July 1943. He was a skilled yachtsman and hand-crafted one of the first

trimaran A trimaran (or double-outrigger) is a multihull boat that comprises a main hull and two smaller outrigger hulls (or "floats") which are attached to the main hull with lateral beams. Most modern trimarans are sailing yachts designed for recrea ...

s which he sailed on San Francisco Bay. Towards the end of his life, his time was divided between his homes in San Francisco and in Glen Ellen in Sonoma County. Macouillard died in San Francisco on November 26, 1987.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macouillard, Louis 1913 births 1987 deaths Artists from San Francisco Art Students League of New York alumni California College of the Arts alumni People from Glen Ellen, California