Nelbert Chouinard


Nelbert Chouinard was an artist from South Pasadena, California who founded the Chouinard Arts Institute in Los Angeles, California. The Institute had a great influence on the arts and art education in Los Angeles, educating the artists and animators who made an impact on art in the twentieth century.

Education

She was a graduate in fine art from the Pratt Institute in New York.

Career

Teaching

After graduating, she moved to South Pasadena and taught at Caltech with Ernest Batchelder. She was subsequently recruited to teach at the Otis Art Institute.

Founding the Chouinard Arts Institute

In 1921 Chouinard founded the Chouinard Arts Institute. Walt Disney was one of Chouinard's early benefactors. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s the Institute trained all of Disney's animation artists. The institute closed in 1962 and was sold to Disney and renamed California Institute for the Arts.

Personal life

Chouinard was married to Horace Chouinard in 1916. The couple first lived in Texas. Horace Chouinard died in World War II and Nelbert Chouinard moved back to California.