Cleveland Museum of Natural History Participates in National Centennial

CMNH Press Release, March 2nd, 2006

THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY IS TAKING PART IN A NATIONWIDE SALUTE TO OHIO-BASED ARTIST VIKTOR SCHRECKENGOST

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is proud to participate in the National Centennial Exhibition in honor of Viktor Schreckengost 100th birthday on June 26. Schreckengost is one of the country’s most prolific artists and a driving force behind modern industrial design throughout the 20th century.

With a natural history theme, 15 of Schreckengost’s sculptures, paintings and sketches were selected to be on display at the Museum in Fawick Gallery, March 18 through July 2. Meghan Olis, curator of the entire National Centennial Exhibition, said there are even three renderings of dinosaurs among the works scheduled for display. These are part of a series of 20 proposed sculptures depicting the history of oil that Schreckengost created in the late ‘50s and ‘60s for the Ohio Oil (today Marathan Oil Corps.) research facility in Findlay, according to Craig Bara, archivist at the Schreckengost Foundation.

The Viktor Schreckengost Foundation and Schreckengost Exhibitions have organized the National Centennial Exhibition, which takes place simultaneously at more than 100 venues across the country – including the Museum – during the 100 days leading to this artist’s birthday on June 26.

Few people know Viktor Schreckengost by name, but most of us have seen, enjoyed or used his creations at some point in our lives. He has designed bicycles, tricycles, pedal cars and wagons, toys, created drawings and paintings, sculpted and created ceramics ranging from art pottery to functional dinnerware.

Schreckengost designed the Jazz Bowl, one of the most celebrated icons of the Art Deco era. Eleanor Roosevelt commissioned the piece in 1930. He exhibited and won awards for 75 years in major museums across the country. During World War II, he applied his problem-solving talents in radar object recognition and terrain mapping that contributed to the Allied victory in World War II. On a local level, Schreckengost designed architectural sculpture for the interiors of Lakewood High and the Pachyderm Building at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, along with costumes and sets for theater productions. Schreckengost taught at the Cleveland Institute of Art (also his alma mater) for 70 years, shaping careers of nearly a thousands students. He resides in Cleveland Heights.

This natural-history themed exhibition is included in the Museum’s admission fee: $7.50 adults, $5.50 7-18, college students with IDs and senior citizens; $4.50 children 3-6 years of age. Shafran Planetarium shows are $3 per person with admission fee. Museum members receive free admission to the Museum and planetarium.

The Museum is at 1 Wade Oval Drive in University Circle, 15 minutes east of downtown Cleveland. Museum hours are: Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, noon. to 5 p.m, and Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Closed major holidays.

Paid parking is available in the Museum’s lot for a flat rate of $5 when purchasing general admission. Parking is also available in front of the Museum and in nearby lots in University Circle.

For more information, call 216-231-4600 or 800-317-9155. Also, visit our Web site – www.cmnh.org.

http://www.cmnh.org/pressroom/documents/schreckengost.html