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With Watercolor Images by Louis Macouillard
This sea chart of southern Malaysia and Singapore is embellished with four watercolor drawings by Louis Macouillard, who is perhaps best known as the commercial artist whose work embellished a number of posters and other works issued by the Matson Shipping Line.
Matson's watercolor illustrations first gained national acclaim when they were featured in a six-page spread and on the cover of Life magazine in October 1943, sent home during World War II with letters to his fiancée in San Francisco.
The subject matter of the drawings are locations along the east coast of Malaysia, including the Kemaman Ferry near Chuckai and a beach scene at Dungun.
Louis Macouillard was an American artist renowned for his evocative watercolor paintings celebrating travel and maritime subjects, as well as his influential work in commercial illustration. Born in San Francisco, California, on September 8, 1913, attended San Francisco Polytechnic High School before continuing his education at the California College of Arts in Oakland (renamed California College of Arts and Crafts in 1936) and the Art Students League in New York City.
Upon returning to San Francisco, Macouillard established his studio in the historic Hotaling Place in Jackson Square. Here, he served as art director for the pioneering Velvetone Poster Company, which transitioned from printing words on felt pennants to advancing high-quality screen-printed posters.
During World War II, Macouillard served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy in the South Pacific, where he documented his experiences through vibrant watercolor sketches. His works from this period, painted on location, were featured prominently in the October 18, 1943, issue of Life magazine, including a six-page spread and the cover.
In the postwar years, Macouillard expanded his artistic repertoire, contributing to a diverse array of commercial projects. During the 1960s, he designed a series of menu covers for the Matson Line, following in the footsteps of earlier artists who depicted the line’s voyages to Hawaii and other tropical destinations. His public artworks include a vibrant mosaic mural designed in 1963 for a mid-century modern bank at 300 S. El Camino Real, San Mateo, California, executed by Alfonso Pardiñas of Byzantine Mosaics. The mural, composed of five childlike panels stretching 25 feet high, narrates the life of A.P. Giannini, founder of the Bank of Italy, in a bold and colorful style.
Macouillard’s contributions to American art are preserved in significant public collections, including the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Oakland Museum of California, where one of his etchings features in a collage by Xavier Martinez.
