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Throwback Thursday: The Fourth Great Snow Sculpture Contest, 1984

March 2, 2017

An entry in the Fourth Great Snow Sculpture Contest, March 4, 1984. Image courtesy of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery Digital Assets Collection and Archives, Buffalo, New York.

Thirty-three years ago in Buffalo, the ground looked a bit different than it does today. While the Fourth Great Snow Sculpture Contest was originally cancelled in February due to lack of snow, it was held on March 4, 1984, thanks to a late February two-foot snowfall.

The contest, held on the Albright-Knox grounds and adjacent Delaware Park, attracted 20 entries and thousands of spectators. The judges were Albright-Knox Director Douglas G. Schultz, Buffalo Fine Arts Academy Board President Samuel D. Magavern, and Tops Friendly Markets Director of Community Relations Douglas Hartmayer.

Prizes were awarded to Sun Dial (Best Sculpture), Iced Tea (Largest Sculpture), In God We Trust (Most Original), Sweet Dreams (Most Humorous), Nose Descending a Staircase (Best Art Theme), and Buffalo Snow Plow (Best Realistic Sculpture), while honorable mentions went to Call HomeTired Dragon, and A Man with His Tongue Hanging Out.

An entry in the Fourth Great Snow Sculpture Contest, March 4, 1984. Image courtesy of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery Digital Assets Collection and Archives, Buffalo, New York.

An entry in the Fourth Great Snow Sculpture Contest, March 4, 1984. Image courtesy of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery Digital Assets Collection and Archives, Buffalo, New York.

An entry in the Fourth Great Snow Sculpture Contest, March 4, 1984. Image courtesy of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery Digital Assets Collection and Archives, Buffalo, New York.

An entry in the Fourth Great Snow Sculpture Contest, March 4, 1984. Image courtesy of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery Digital Assets Collection and Archives, Buffalo, New York.