Viktor Schreckengost: American Da Vinci [Paperback]

Henry Adams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 30, 2006

This survey of the work of Viktor Schreckengost - an artistic inventor, an American DaVinci - marks the centenary of his birth. A key figure in the first era of modern design and one of its last living leaders, Schreckengost's paintings, sculpture, pottery, and industrial designs, are now being exhibited at more than 100 museums around the United States. Throughout his long working career, Schreckengost strove to apply a creative philosophy that liinked artistically dramatic form with an object's function. The result was design that was nearly always remarkable and very often revolutionary. He created the first cab-over-engine truck, the first modern mass-produced dinnerware, and the first economical pedal-cars for children. He designed stage sets and costumers, flashlights, printing presses, riding lawn mowers, electric fans, and bicycles. At the same time, his work in the fine arts flourished. He won awards for paintings and ceramic sculpture, placed pieces in museums, and won commissions for new sculptures. Somehow he also found time to establish the Industrial Design Department at the Cleveland Institute of Art, the first program of its kind in the U.S., where he helped teach a new generation of designers. This study of the life and work of Viktor Schreckengost includes more than 250 images of his art and design iwth an extensive text by historian Henry Adams. From the ceramic Jazz Bowl to the high speed, sixteen color printing press designed for R.R. Donnelly, Schreckengost demonstrated style an d innovation that have influenced the shapes of things Americans have used for more than two generations.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Henry Adams is the author of more than 200 publications exploring American art, including books, museum catalogs, and articles. An award winning art historian, Adams is Professor of American art at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Tide-Mark Press (August 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594902208
• ISBN-13: 978-1594902208
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,581,917 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Viktor Schreckengost Quiet Giant, September 12, 2006

By 

David N. Waldman (Cleveland Hts,. OH) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Viktor Schreckengost: American Da Vinci (Paperback)

The book is an excellent read for any fan of Viktor's. It includes many of his pieces that have not been seen before, including dinnerware, theater designs, and toys. It has wonderful pictures of all of Viktor's various artworks. The new text greatly expands upon the different mediums he worked in and how he was influencial to American design.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended., October 3, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Viktor Schreckengost: American Da Vinci (Paperback)

Fine artist, sculptor, and ceramicist Viktor Schreckengost has had an enormous impact of popular culture through his Limoges dinnerware designs, his work as a graphic artist, theater and costume designer, as well as his industrial designs which ranged from Murray bicycles, pedal cars, planes and boats, to Steelcraft toy buses and trucks, commercial printing presses, the first riding lawn mower, General Electric lighting fixtures and appliances, the Sear's Beverly Hills lawn chair, and that classic icon of American childhood -- the little red wagon. Profusely illustrated in full color and enhanced with the addition of an Index and Image Catalogue, and with expert commentary by former museum curator Henry Adams, "Viktor Schreckengost: American Da Vinci" is a superbly presented and informative introduction to the life, work, and artistry of a remarkably talent who dedicated himself to the esthetic improvement of American popular culture. Highly recommended for personal, professional, and academic library American Art History reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

5.0 out of 5 stars Viktor Schreckengost-The American Da Vinci, March 2, 2008

By 

Lucy Eberly - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Viktor Schreckengost: American Da Vinci (Paperback)

A great book about a great man......very informative.......I met the man so therefore I am extremely impressed....