Schreckengost gives 'Jazz Bowl' to museum

Many collectors consider 'Jazz Bowl' an icon of the art deco era.
CLEVELAND -- A famous work from a Sebring native is now part of a presidential library in Hyde Park, N.Y.
Artist and industrial designer Viktor Schreckengost of Cleveland and formerly of Sebring, donated "Jazz Bowl," one of his most notable works, to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, N.Y.
More than 130 galleries and museums throughout the country marked Schreckengost's 100th birthday this year with the National Centennial Exhibition displaying his works. They include toys, ceramics, paintings, sketches, dinnerware and trucks.
Schreckengost's industrial designs include bicycles sold by Sears, children's pedal wagons, lawn chairs, sit-down lawn mowers and American Limoges dinnerware.
To cap off those centennial celebrations, Schreckengost donated the "Jazz Bowl" this week.
Created in 1931
An anonymous commission given to Schreckengost through a New York gallery in 1931 requested a "large, New York-ish punch bowl," according to the Viktor Schreckengost Foundation in Cleveland. The bowl was actually to be for Eleanor Roosevelt in celebration of her husband's re-election as governor of New York.
Schreckengost responded using his visions of New York on New Year's Eve, the foundation said. The large Egyptian blue and black bowl bears images of skyscrapers, ocean liners and musical icons.
Mrs. Roosevelt liked "Jazz Bowl" so much that she ordered another one for the White House.
The bowl donated to the museum is called No. 31, to commemorate the year of the bowl's creation. It's from the 100-piece limited edition series.
"The Roosevelt Library is delighted to accept Mr. Schreckengost's generous gift," Cynthia Koch, director of the FDR library, said in a news release.
The bowl along with historical correspondence about it will "add immeasurable value to our files for researchers and as background to the bowl itself," Koch said.
"Jazz Bowl" is considered by collectors to be an icon of the art deco era.
Earlier this month, President Bush awarded Schreckengost the National Medal of Arts.