Viktor Schreckengost began his career as an industrial designer in 1930. He was born June 26, 1906, in the town of Sebring, Ohio. Schreckengost grew up to attend what was then known as the Cleveland School of Arts, now the Cleveland Institute of Art. Schreckengost’s talents were many, including being a master painter, ceramist, and industrial designer. At a mere 26 years of age, Schreckengost was already an established artist/designer, well traveled, and working as an instructor at the Cleveland School of Arts. His artwork has appeared in many infamous Cleveland May Shows, at area landmarks, on theater sets, family’s dinner tables, as well as in their own back yards.
In his early years, Schreckengost visited world-renowned ceramic centers ranging from Europe and northern Africa. He returned to the Cleveland School of Arts after such travels to spread any knowledge gained from his overseas visits. By 1934, Schreckengost’s work was already part of the permanent collection at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Not only was he realized as an authentic artist and innovative designer, his instruction to his students was infinitely insightful for those students he thoughtfully instructed.
Schreckengost designed bicycles and toys for the Murray Ohio Company. He designed several “motorcycle” looks, including a tricycle. The first of his bicycles was the 1939 Murray Mercury. His design was elegant and was even exhibited at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Based on Schreckengost’s training as a sculptor, it was natural for him to turn to sculpture in his bicycle designs. His bicycles had functional purpose and they captured fantasies of children. Schreckengost went on to develop a line of toy pedal cars for children to ride, taking shapes of planes, fire trucks, and racecars.
Schreckengost designed wheeled steel machines for various companies such as the Murray Ohio Co., the White Motor Company, and Sears, Roebuck & Company. He developed the first cab-over-engine truck, double deck buses, lawn mowers, riding lawn mowers, and circulating air fans with wheels. Schreckengost diligently sketched in great details all of his designs, working closely with engineers to accredit his models for top quality and safety. He had great sensibilities about industrial design and always kept affordability in mind for the everyday family.
Along with his sensibility was Schreckengost’s long line of dinnerware. Limoges China, in his hometown of Sebring employed him to design dinnerware. His talents as sculptor and potter, which gave him a national and international reputation, made way for wonderful china. Schreckengost’s designs appealed to American women everywhere due to their style, quality, and affordability. He was ahead of his time, and lived to see it. A magnificent talent, Schreckengost passed away at 101 years of age.
Image courtesy of Cleveland Memory.
Viktor Schreckengost at age 32. One of the most influential 20th century industrial designers. After serving in the Navy during WWII, he returned to the Cleveland School of Arts where he continued to master his talents as painter and ceramist. Some of his larger than human scale sculptures can be found at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo on the Pachyderm building.
Image courtesy of Cleveland Memory.
Schreckengost working on his toy pedal car line for Murray Ohio Company. His pedal cars included a Fire Chief Car, Pursuit Planes, Speedway Pace Car, and the Champion. Through diligent research, and speaking with auto designers, Schreckengost developed good designs for low cost production. Schreckengost’s pedal cars were introduced in the early 1940s. Children could use their imagination to the fullest, fantasizing about their next mission, car race, or fire rescue while riding in their pedal car. High quality and affordable, the average family could enjoy the adventure.
Image courtesy of Viktor Schreckengost Collection. Special Collections. Cleveland State University.
Schreckengost attended the Cleveland School of Arts, and later joined their faculty. One of his instructors was Guy Cowan, who later employed Schreckengost for his ceramics. Schreckengost was the youngest instructor ever hired. He founded the industrial design department at the art institute.
Image courtesy of Viktor Schreckengost Collection. Special Collections. Cleveland State University.
Schreckengost designed various bicycles for Murray Ohio, and for Sears. His bicycles varied in design, for children and adults. Schreckengost’s bicycles resembled the look and sleek style of motorcycles. He added appealing features like double-beam, and triple-beam headlights.
Image courtesy of the Viktor Schreckengost Collection. Special Collections. Cleveland State University.
An advertisement for Murray Ohio Co. It details the various designs of Schreckengost’s. His industrial wheeled machine designs went on to include far more than an innovative bicycles for children and adults.
Image courtesy of Viktor Schreckengost Collection. Special Collections. Cleveland State University.
Schreckengost went on to design not just a standard push lawn mower but the riding lawn mower. The line of riding lawn mowers were in various sizes suitable for men and women. They came in different colors such as, red, yellow, and green.
Image courtesy with written permission of The Cleveland Museum of Art.
As a master painter and ceramist, Schreckengost created the New Yorker, better known as the Jazz Bowl in 1930. Above is the The New Yorker (Jazz) Bowl, c.1930. It is glazed ceramic with sgraffito design, part of the Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund collection. There were three versions of the Jazz Bowl, all different in shape and in the method of production. Each were made by hand, drawn slightly differently, and varied in color. Inspired by a trip to New York, the bowls tell a story of a night out on the town. Greatly enjoyed, Cowan Pottery put the design into production.
Image courtesy of Viktor Schreckengost Foundation, on display at Special Collections. Cleveland State University.
Schreckengost designed various lines of detailed dinnerware. His lines included details of colorful designs in themes of potted flowers, garden herbs and fruits, baseball and animal figures. Also, plain designs in colors of creme, white, and black. Some lines featured gourd like shapes or animalistic shapes to them. Schreckengost implemented tripod feet, indentations for fingers, and saucers to serve duo as a cake plate. His creativity mixed with sensibility and desire to create for the masses, introduced designs that not only women would enjoy but men could, too.
Generally a nice description. I’d go further, calling him the father of industrial design. It’s probably not too bold a claim, and it’s memorable.
In the first paragraph, I would change “are” to “were” and otherwise indicate everything in the past tense since Schreckengost is deceased. I’d also suggest referring to him by last name rather than simply “Viktor,” which lends a less formal tone.
“In his early years, Viktor visited world-renowned ceramic centers in such countries as Europe and northern Africa.” — Since Europe and northern Africa aren’t countries, I’d change to read “ceramic centers ranging from Europe to northern Africa,” or indicate a few of the specific countries.
“Viktor industrialized wheeled steel machines for various companies…” — Is industrialized the right word here? Maybe “designed” instead?
“Along with his sensibility was Viktor’s long line of dinnerware. Limoges China, in his hometown of Sebring employed him to design dinnerware.” — The meaning of the first part of this sentence isn’t as clear as it might be. I think you mean that this is another example of his eye to affordability, which I think you can make clearer.
Regarding images, these are nice. I wonder the efficacy of stating “courtesy of Murray Ohio Company” before CSU. Are these items now truly owned by CSU Special Collections? If so, you can drop the Murray Ohio part. If not, we need to figure this out.
The images apparently taken from the CMA book will definitely need to be removed or used with formal written permission. I am going to give you a copy of our materials permission form if you have a way of making contact with the appropriate parties.
I really liked this blog post. I’ve always wanted to know more about Schreckengost and I gained a lot of knowledge from your article. I thought the latter half was especially well developed. I would like to know more about his early life; what drove him to become an artist, and what he studied at school. Overall a great article.