The Viktor Schreckengost Collection
BROWSE IMAGES OF VIKTOR SCHRECKENGOST AND HIS LOCAL WORKS
Schreckengost Collection Finding Aid
About Viktor Schreckengost
Viktor Schreckengost
Viktor Schreckengost, the "American DaVinci" was a Cleveland artist, teacher and industrial designer who reshaped the field of American design and influenced generations of students. Mr. Schreckengost combined artistic and functional brilliance in his designs for products ranging widely from pedal cars, printing presses, and kitchen appliances to furniture, dinnerware, and toys.
While Schreckengost was primarily known for his work with ceramics, sculpture, and industrial design, he was also a prolific watercolor painter. Along with his sketches and papers, the Viktor Schreckengost Collection held by Cleveland State University Special Collections includes digitized images of his paintings, in a variety of styles, including scenes from his many travels, as well as his interest in architecture, cityscapes, rural scenes, musical instruments, Mexican folk art, and animals.
Mr. Schreckengost founded the first industrial design program in the nation at the Cleveland Institute of Art. For more than 70 years, he instructed nearly 1,000 students, who have produced billions of dollars of successful products for American industry.
His honors include a Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects. At age 100, he received the National Medal of the Arts from President George W. Bush during a White House ceremony. Viktor Schreckengost passed away in 2008 at age 101.
About the Collection
Our Schreckengost Collection, dating back to the 1920s, consists of documents and items relating to his teaching career, design career, military experience, and personal life, including personal photographs and correspondence, source material, sketches, and other items that reveal both his creative and intellectual process.
A Schreckengost pedal car
Additional materials include extensive correspondence (interdepartmental and personal); awards; blueprints for many designs; sketches of artwork, newspaper clippings; naval assignments; exhibitions; greeting cards; travel information from all around the world; photographs, transparencies, and slides; materials and documents of the Viktor Schreckengost Foundation, and other ephemera.
The physical collection is housed in Special Collections at the Michael Schwartz Library, Cleveland State University.
