Private Viewing at the Cleveland Museum of Art

A regret of our Cleveland tour is that participants did not experience the Cleveland Museum of Art. It is one of the nation's finest collections. During our visit most of the museum galleries were closed because of an expansion project, designed by internationally renowned architect Rafael Vinoly. Almost all of the collection was in storage. However, Melvin Rose, of Rose Iron Works, arranged for several pieces to be removed from storage for our group to see. We were extremely grateful to Mr. Rose and the staff at the Cleveland Museum of Art for arranging this special viewing, exclusively for Art & Art Deco Cleveland 2006!

One of the pieces on display was the exquisite "Art Deco Screen," designed by Paul Feher, and manufactured by Cleveland's Rose Iron Works in 1931. It is the finest example of American Art Deco metalwork ever created! It was a privilege to see this masterpiece up-close to appreciate the meticulous craftsmanship of wrought iron and brass, with silver and gold plating. We were introduced to the curator responsible for its cleaning and restoration. Mr. Rose explained to the group how the empty or "negative space" of the piece is as important to the overall design as the decorative metalwork.

Also available for our private viewing were several ceramic pieces by the Cleveland artist and industrial designer Viktor Schreckengost. In the mid-1920s he enrolled at what is now the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA.) Originally interested in cartoon making, he changed his focus to ceramics after seeing an exhibition at the nearby Cleveland Museum of Art. At the age of 25, he became the youngest faculty member at the CIA, and continued to teach there for 70 years! In the 1930s, he embarked upon an amazing career in industrial design, creating products for Murray Bicycles, Sears, General Electric, and Salem China. It has been said that every adult in America has used or seen a creation of Viktor Schreckengost.

In 2006, there were over 100 exhibitions across the United States showcasing his work to celebrate his 100th birthday. In 2006, he was also a recipient of the National Medal of Arts. He died in 2008, at the age of 101. Learn more about this remarkable genius at: www.viktorschreckengost.org.

At our private exhibition, we saw several of Schreckengost’s ceramic animal sculptures, a jar with an “undersea” design, and two “Jazz Bowls.”

The Jazz Bowl (circa 1930)

"The Jazz Bowl" is an icon of American Art Deco design. Viktor Schreckengost produced the first Jazz Bowl when he worked at Cowan Pottery Studios. A New York City gallery had requested "a punch bowl with a New York theme" for one of its clients. It was later revealed that the client was Eleanor Roosevelt, who commissioned the bowl to celebrate her husband's recent election as governor of New York. She was so pleased with the bowl that she ordered two more. The whereabouts of the first Jazz Bowl is unknown. Cowan Pottery Studio eventually produced around 50 bowls of similar design. Some of the later bowls had the parabolic shape of the first bowl; others have a flared rim. The Cleveland Museum of Art has an example of each.