Biography
Domenico Mortellito was born in 1906 in Newark, N.J. and died in 1994. His art career began when he was able to graduate a year early from the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts in 1922 and enter Pratt Institute, graduating with a historic award in 1926. He operated his own studio in New York City from 1927 to 1942, during which time he participated in the W.P.A. and T.R.A.P. public programs. The work he produced included murals for World’s Fair pavilions, churches, luxury liner ships and trains, architectural decorations for public buildings, sculpture, and furniture. From 1942 to 1945, Mortellito worked in the Pentagon, both as a civilian and as a lieutenant in the Air Force. He designed exhibits, supervised graphic presentations, and designed booklets and brochures. From 1945 to 1979, he worked as a design advisor for the DuPont Company designing exhibits and the 1965 World’s Fair Pavilion. He designed marketing materials and product symbols, and supervised the design department. As the chairman of the DuPont Color Council, Mortellito developed innovative printing processes. As an artist, he experimented with a wide range of potential art materials: Lucite, nylon, Teflon, Delrin, Corian, rigid urethane, potassium titanate, machine and automobile lacquer finishes, and Lexan. He considered himself a comprehensive artist encompassing various and innovative mediums.
In addition to Mortellito’s personal work, his clients included:
He was an active member of the National Society of Mural Painters, the National Sculpture Society, the American Artist Professional League, and the Artist Equity Association. He was also a lecturer and writer on “Creativity”, “Color”, and “New Mediums for the Fine Arts”.
In addition to Mortellito’s personal work, his clients included:
- Mack Jenny and Tyler—he created a fresco frieze for the Morgan Library Annex; a polychromed composition stone dome and 12 lunettes for St. Joseph’s Chapel, L.I.; oil murals for the Brooklyn Edison Company; lunettes and ceiling medallions for Woolsey Hall, Yale University; and a medallion for the Capitol Theater.
- Newark City Railway—he created ten separate faience tile murals.
- W.P.A. and T.R.A.P.—For the Port Chester NY. Post Office, he created thirteen • oil mural panels. For the Harlem Housing Project, he created eight carved lacquer linoleum murals. For the National Zoological Park, he created a “Noah’s Ark” carved lacquer linoleum mural for the restaurant, two “Pied Piper” cast aluminum plaques, two carved cement plaques, two carved lacquer linoleum lunettes, and seven habitat backgrounds painted with chlorinated rubber. For the New York Custom House, he produced water color scale renderings. For an Ellis Island sitting room frieze, he produced water color scale renderings.
- Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Co.—carved lacquer linoleum murals for their • offices, two c11 bar fronts for the Seaboard Coast Lines, and seven bar fronts for the Atlantic and Florida Coast Lines. He also produced leather murals for the Santa Fe trains.
- Saks and Lerner shops—he created carved lacquer linoleum panels.
- 1939 New York World’s Fair—Mortellito carved and painted a cement dome and • two entrances for the Heinz Building; created the first mural carved in Lucite and plastacele for the DuPont Building; carved a lacquer linoleum proscenium arch for the Ford Motor Company Theater; produced mural decorations in metal, plastics, mineral granules, lacquer linoleum, and oil for the Venezuela Pavilion; painted an exterior mural for the Food Building; carved lacquer linoleum panels for the Sports Building; carved lacquer linoleum doors and a floor plaque for the House of Jewels; and created a chlorinated rubber paint mural for the entrance to the Hall of Fashions.
- 1939 San Francisco World’s Fair—created carved lacquer linoleum for the DuPont Pavilion.
He was an active member of the National Society of Mural Painters, the National Sculpture Society, the American Artist Professional League, and the Artist Equity Association. He was also a lecturer and writer on “Creativity”, “Color”, and “New Mediums for the Fine Arts”.
The artwork on this site is protected under US and international copyright laws. The visitor agrees not to reproduce, publish, or distribute any of the displayed material without permissions from the owners of the copyright. All pictures will be tracked with Digimarc.
© The Domenico Mortellito Trust 2010
