William Pajaud

William Etienne "Bill" Pajaud (August 3, 1925 – June 16, 2015) was an African-American artist, primarily working in watercolor, known for his paintings exploring themes of jazz. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and died in Los Angeles, California, on June 16, 2015, at the age of 89. He was the curator of the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Fine Art Collection. He was part of the artists' collective Eleven Associated (later Art West Association). This Los Angeles artists' co-op included artists Beulah Woodard, Alice Taylor Gafford and Tyrus Wong.

Pajaud's watercolors featured imagery inspired by his childhood in New Orleans and his adult life in Chicago and Los Angeles: full-figured African American women, jazz funerals, street scenes. 'The Life and Art of William Pajaud', M. Hanks Gallery, Santa Monica, 2003.

Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Fine Art Collection Pajaud was the adviser for the acquisition of artworks for the black-owned Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company, for whom he had worked since 1957 in design and public relations. The collection also included several of Pajaud's own works. At more than 200 works, it became the largest U.S. collection of corporate-owned African American art.

A large proportion of the collection was auctioned in 2007 when the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company went out of business.