Crimilda Pontes
{{short description|American graphic designer}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Crimilda Pontes
| other_names = Crimelda Pontes
| birth_date = March 13, 1926
| birth_place = Somerset, Massachusetts
| death_date = January 25, 2000
| death_place =
| nationality = American
| occupation = Graphic designer, calligrapher
}}
Crimilda Pontes (March 13, 1926 – January 25, 2000) was an American graphic designer and calligrapher. She designed many book covers and dust jackets, and was responsible for the Smithsonian Institution's "sunburst" logo.
Early life
Pontes was born in Somerset, Massachusetts, the daughter of Albert Pontes and Irene Reis Cabral Pontes, of Bristol, Rhode Island. Her father was head custodian for Bristol schools.{{Cite news|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/entertainment-clipping-dec-31-1959-1619860/|title=Crimilda Pontes Inscribes Gift of President|date=December 31, 1959|work=Bristol Phoenix|access-date=March 31, 2020|page=1|via=NewspaperArchive.com}} She was valedictorian of the Bristol Senior High School class of 1944.{{Cite news|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-jun-23-1944-1619875/|title=High School Graduates Receive Their Diplomas|date=June 23, 1944|work=Bristol Phoenix|access-date=March 31, 2020|page=1|via=NewspaperArchive.com}} She recalled of her early education in 1968, "I would like it stressed that my interest in books and lettering was enkindled and encouraged in its development under the guidance of Miss Jessie Molaskey, librarian at Guiteras Junior High School."{{Cite news|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/entertainment-clipping-jul-10-1964-1619842/|title=Crimilda Pontes, Richard Grosvenor Exhibit Begins Today at Art Museum|date=July 10, 1964|work=Bristol, Phoenix|access-date=March 31, 2020|page=16|via=NewspaperArchive.com}}
Pontes studied with calligrapher John Howard Benson,{{Cite book|last1=Kent|first1=Allen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xVIsuPvNxnAC&q=Crimilda+Pontes+RISD&pg=PA30|title=Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science: Volume 4 - Calligraphy to Church Libraries|last2=Lancour|first2=Harold|date=1970-11-01|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-0-8247-2004-9|pages=30|language=en}} and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the Rhode Island School of Design in 1948. She completed her Master of Fine Arts degree in graphic design at Yale University in 1959.{{Cite web|url=https://siarchives.si.edu/blog/crimilda-pontes-original-designer-smithsonian-sunburst|title=Crimilda Pontes: The Original Designer of the Smithsonian Sunburst|last1=Rosato|first1=Nikki|last2=Leibach|first2=Sarah|date=2020-03-24|website=Smithsonian Institution Archives|language=en|access-date=2020-03-31}}
Career
Pontes was an apprentice to John Howard Benson in Rhode Island after she graduated from college. She held the title Illustrator General at the Naval War College from 1951 to 1954, and taught art at Rosary Hill College from 1954 to 1957.{{Cite web|url=https://aspace.library.wmich.edu/repositories/2/resources/73|title=Collection: Crimilda Pontes Graphic Arts Archive|website=WMU Libraries' Digital Finding Aids|access-date=2020-03-31}} In 1959, she inscribed the dedication in the book that American president Dwight D. Eisenhower gave to French president Charles de Gaulle at a summit in Paris.
Pontes designed book covers and dust jackets, working at Yale University Press from 1959 to 1964. She was a designer at the Smithsonian Institution for 23 years, beginning in 1965,{{Cite book|last=Institution|first=Smithsonian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DdYWAAAAYAAJ&q=Crimilda+Pontes&pg=PA400|title=Smithsonian Year: Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for the Year Ended Sept. 30 ...|date=1965|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press|pages=400|language=en}} and was responsible for creating the Smithsonian's "sunburst" logo. She retired in 1988. She also did lettering for postage stamps,{{Cite web|url=https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/6c-cyrenius-hall-chief-joseph-stamp/UAFTH-O1FE1RwA|title=6c Cyrenius Hall "Chief Joseph" stamp|website=Google Arts & Culture|language=en|access-date=2020-03-31}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/47731119/stamps/|title=STAMPS|date=1968-10-02|work=The Gazette|access-date=2020-03-31|pages=12|via=Newspapers.com}} banners, and posters.
The 1971 redesign of the American Historical Review was "chiefly owing" to the work of Pontes, "who brought to her task an unusual combination of sensitivity, taste, experience, and a remarkable grasp of scholarly needs and constraints; moreover, she has been great fun to work with", according to the journal's managing editor, Robert K. Webb.Webb, R. K. "Report of the Managing Editor for the Year 1971" American Historical Review (AHA meeting program, 1971): 14. In 1984, she helped design the medal for members of the Order of James Smithson.{{Cite news|last=Brown|first=Joe|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1984/07/04/laurels/a5efcbab-d61d-4f50-b78a-34e02963a7d0/|title=LAURELS|date=1984-07-04|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2020-03-31|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}
Personal life
Pontes died in 2000, aged 73 years. Her gravesite is with her parents', in Bristol. Her papers are in the Crimilda Pontes Graphic Arts Archive at Western Michigan University, and the Crimilda Pontes Papers at the Smithsonian.{{Cite web|url=https://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_arc_254945|title=Accession 89-024 Crimilda Pontes Papers, 1965-1988|last=Archives|first=Smithsonian Institution|website=Smithsonian Institution Archives|language=en|access-date=2020-03-31}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.mainstreetfinebooks.com/pages/books/25522/crimilda-pontes/signed-first-day-cover A signed first-day cover from 1968], featuring Crimilda Pontes' autograph.
- {{Find a Grave|id=158677662|name=}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pontes, Crimilda}}
Category:American graphic designers
Category:American women graphic designers
Category:Rhode Island School of Design alumni
Category:Smithsonian Institution people
Category:Yale University alumni
Category:People from Bristol, Rhode Island
Category:American calligraphers
Category:Artists from Massachusetts
Category:Artists from Rhode Island