Guthrie Courvoiser and Moira Wallace

Guthrie Courvoisier, founder of Couroc of Monterey, was born in 1903. He inherited Courvoisier Galleries in San Francisco from his father. Although the gallery was founded in 1905 it didn’t gain recognition until Guthrie made it “The First Name in Disney Art” by being the exclusive gallery for Disney’s animation cels. However, the gallery closed in 1942 to make plastic airplane parts for the military. They retained their Disney exclusivity until 1946. With the combination of these experiences he founded Couroc of Monterey in 1948 along with his wife and artist, Moira Wallace. Moira was also a California native. She was born in 1910 in Carmel. She was a child prodigy and by the age of 13 had 24 drawings published in the San Francisco Chronicle. She has murals all around California and work in The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Wallace died in 1979 and Courvoisier died ironically the same year and month as Walt Disney…December 1966.