The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 18, 2024
Leda and the Swan
1931–1932
designed by
(American, 1906–2008)
made at
(American, Ohio, Rocky River, 1912–1931)
Diameter: 41.5 cm (16 5/16 in.); Overall: 6.9 cm (2 11/16 in.)
Location: not on view
Description
Viktor Schreckengost's career bridges the fields of industrial design, product design, the fine arts, and teaching. His designs include such everyday items as dinnerware, bicycles, pedal cars, lawn furniture, printing presses, stage sets, and outdoor lighting systems. As the son of a potter, Schreckengost has always had a natural affinity for clay. In 1930, he began exhibiting ceramic objects at the annual May Show at the Cleveland Museum of Art. At first he focused on plates and vessels, which, as seen here, he decorated with bold, modern designs. This is one of a series of large ceramic plates that Schreckengost produced shortly after his return to Cleveland from a year of study in Vienna. In Greek mythology Leda was one of the mortal women loved by Zeus, king of the gods. Zeus came to Leda in the form of a swan. For this plate Schreckengost used a challenging technique called sgraffito, which did not allow him to make changes or corrections. To create the design, he scratched through a surface covering of black engobe (clay mixed with glaze) to the white ceramic underneath.- Viktor Schreckengost Entry Card to 1932 May Show. Cleveland Museum of Art May Show Records, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.orgCleveland Museum of Art, “New Acquisitions Now on View at the CMA,” July 11, 2001, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
- Burchfield to Schreckengost: Cleveland Art of the Jazz Age. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 28-July 18, 2004).Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; March 28 - July 18, 2004. "Burchfield to Schreckengost: Cleveland Art of the Jazz Age", no exhibition catalogue.Viktor Schreckengost and 20th-century Design. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (November 12, 2000-February 4, 2001).Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; November 12, 2000 - February 4, 2001. "Viktor Schreckengost and 20th-Century Design" exh. cat. no. 32, p. 163, color repr. p. 44.The May Show: 14th Annual Exhibition of Works by Cleveland Artists and Craftsmen. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 27-June 5, 1932).
- {{cite web|title=Leda and the Swan|url=false|author=Viktor Schreckengost, Cowan Pottery Studio|year=1931–1932|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2001.85