William Pajaud

William Pajaud (born August 3, 1925, in New Orleans, Louisiana – died June 16, 2015) was an American artist whose painting and watercolor practice explored Black life, jazz, memory, Southern culture, and the dignity of everyday community. Working across watercolor, painting, printmaking, and design, Pajaud examined African American experience through lyrical figuration, vibrant color, and scenes drawn from New Orleans, Chicago, and Los Angeles.  Pajaud studied fine art at Xavier University of Louisiana and later studied graphic design at Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles. His work often engages music, Black family life, ritual, and neighborhood memory, using watercolor and figurative composition to consider celebration, resilience, and the cultural force of ordinary life. He was also a major curator and builder of Black art infrastructure through his role shaping the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Fine Art Collection, one of the most important corporate collections of African American art in the United States.  His work has been exhibited at the Hammer Museum, the California African American Museum, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and other institutions, and his work is held in collections including CAAM, the Hunter Museum, and the Pushkin Museum. He received honors including the PRSA Art Exhibition Award of Merit, the Paul Robeson Special Award for Contribution to the Arts, and the Samella Award. William Pajaud lived and worked in Los Angeles.