Description
The first organized competition of winter sports at Dartmouth began in 1910 and was called “Winter Carnival” starting in 1912. It became an annual intercollegiate competition not long after, and later became international. As the event grew, it expanded from downhill and cross-country skiing, ski jumping, and snowshoe race competitions to include other festive events. A poster advertising the event was issued in 1911, and the tradition of creating one or two posters annually begin in 1935. The posters apparently were designed by art students, either at Dartmouth or other schools, as indicated in credits in the lower margin. Some of the artists went on to successful professional careers in illustration art. Based on extant examples, students at Dartmouth at the time the posters were issued often kept them as souvenirs after graduation. The posters are now highly prized by art and memorabilia collectors; they are at once examples of sporting art, and also a reflection of the art style and social history of the respective times they were created.
Domenic “Dom” Lupo was an illustrator who worked in New York and California, best known for his golf illustrations. He was born in Waltham, Massachusetts, and won a four year scholarship to the Child Walker School of Design in Boston to study illustration, during which time he produced a poster for the Dartmouth Winter Carnival of 1939. He served with the Marines in World War II, then moved to New York to embark on an illustration career. Early in career he produced illustrations for children’s books, advertising, and travel and industrial clients, and was voted as a member of the Society of Illustrators in 1954. In the mid 1960s he became a specialist in golf illustration as the lead illustrator for Golf Magazine for 25 years, also illustrating over 30 books for many of the world’s leading golfers. He also painted portraits of golf inductees for the World Golf Hall of Fame, St. Augustine, Florida, for 10 years. In the latter years of this life, he lived in Southern California. Retired from commercial illustration, he continued painting watercolors and portraits.
Full publication credits, lower margins: D. Lupo poster: “Child-Walker School, Boston. Litho in U.S.A.”
Condition: Generally fine overall, uncirculated with strong original color and no need for it to be backed. Nonetheless, with some light handling and wear.
References:
“Domenic “Dom” Lupo Obituary.” Ramona Sentinel. 16 May, 2013. On Legacy.com: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/ramonasentinel/name/domenic-dom-lupo-obituary?id=18493555 (13 February 2023).
Horrell, Jeffrey. “Posters: About.” Dartmouth College Library. 6 December 2021. https://www.dartmouth.edu/library/digital/collections/other/about.html (13 February 2023).
Lupo, Dom. “Dartmouth Winter Carnival, Feb. 10-11, 1939.” Dartmouth Winter Carnival Posters. https://doi.org/10.1349/ddlp.1295 (13 February 2023).
