Viktor Schreckengost, An Industrial Design Giant Dies at 101
The Last Surviving Designer of the Golden Age of American Industrial Design
By: Mark Favermann - Feb 06, 2008
He spent most of the 20th century quietly working on projects that touched every aspect of people's lives in the United States, from dinnerware for the average home to prized Art Deco "Jazz" bowls for the White House, from huge trucks to Sears' bicycles, from lawn chairs to lawn mowers and from golf carts to even kiddy cars.
I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to interview Viktor Schreckengost in 2001 for a piece for The Journal of Antiques and Collectibles. He was bright, witty and full of enthusiasm for his career and achievements. At the time, he was only 94. He told me the story of the lady from New York State in 1930 that had seen a punch bowl that he designed and wanted to order two with a New York theme.
The lady was Eleanor Roosevelt, the first lady of New York at the time. Franklin was then the governor. Franklin was so pleased that she eventually ordered two more. One was for their home in Hyde Park and the other was sent to the White House. About 50 of the "Jazz Bowls" were made at the Cowan Pottery Studio where Viktor was senior designer.
The large bowl was glazed in black and a vibrant blue. Schreckengost decorated it with stylized images of New York City's Jazz Age's high spirits. It included skyscrapers, ships, stars, neon signs, a Champagne bottle and even a tray of cocktails. The fact that it was still Prohibition did not seem to matter. This bowl is one of the iconic pieces of American Art Deco design. The punch bowl sold for $50, a lot at the time even for a big ceramic bowl. In 2004, Sotheby's sold one of the $50 bowls at auction for a whopping $254,400. Alas, Victor never owned one.
Schreckengost was also an inspiring teacher of generations of industrial designers, ceramicists and other visual artists. At the time of his death, Mr. Schreckengost was an emeritus professor of industrial design at the Cleveland Institute of Art, where he had been on the faculty for 78 years.
Viktor Schreckengost belonged to the first and perhaps one of the greatest generations of American industrial designers, which included great design luminaries like Russel Wright, Walter Teague, Henry Dreyfus, Norman Bel Geddes and Raymond Loewy. It was truly a Golden Age of Industrial Design. If he was less well known than they were, that was, by his account, a matter of choice. He chose to do his living and working in Cleveland Heights for most of his life, not in New York City. However, his seemingly geographical isolation somehow did not hamper his amazing creative output and impact.
Among other things, he was the first to put the cab over the engine in a truck adding greater capacity to trucks. His Beverly Hills metal lawn chairs were ubiquitous elements of emerging suburban life in America after WWII. Viktor's pedal cars were many children's first fantasies to actuallt drive a car. Interestingly, during the War, he commanded the Office of Naval Research. Mega-designer Charles Eames also worked for this department as well.
In 2006, Viktor Schreckengost was awarded the National Medal of Arts, our country's highest cultural honor. His work is in the permanent collections of major museums, including the Renwick Gallery, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Metropolitan Museum, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago.
He was a design giant by any definition. It is estimated that every living adult in America has used and often admired objects designed by Viktor Schreckengost or one of his students. Think Mustangs and Corvettes among others.
An extensive and rare exhibition of Viktor Schreckengost's work, Viktor Schreckengost Legacy Exhibition, will be on view at the Attleboro Arts Museum from March 21, 2008 through March 16, 2008 in Attleboro, Massachusetts. A former student of Viktor's, Chuck Tramontana, was lead curator. A bit sadly, there were plans for Mr. Schreckengost to visit the exhibit at the opening. A great way to remember and honor this master's life work will be to visit and experience this timely exhibit.