Biography provided courtesy of “California Watercolors 1850-1970” By Gordon T. McClelland and Jay T. Last.

Claude Coats (1913-1992)...Born: San Francisco, CA

Studied: University of Southern California

Member: California Water Color Society.

Claude Coats was raised in California where he studied watercolor painting with Paul Sample and Dan Lutz. After graduating in 1934, he began exhibiting with the California Water Color Society and for approximately ten years, was active as a watercolor artist. Coats worked for many years as an artist at the Walt Disney Studios, where he painted elaborate, colorful watercolor backgrounds for many classic animated feature films including Pinocchio, Dumbo, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfi, Cinderella, Fantasia and Peter Pan.

Biographical information:

Interview with Claude Coats, 1983.