LOT DETAILS

Materials:

Glazed earthenware

Measurements:

18.00 in. (45.72 cm.) (height)

Markings:

Incised signature to each: VIKTOR SCHRECKENGOST

Condition:

each season has been observed under black light, summer has a hairline crack to nose bridge and by the incised signature, light firing cracks to the braids and restoration to the end of the leftbraid; professional restoration by larry sisson to the hair ornamentation of fall, missing flake of glaze to one of the ornamental acorns; readhered leaf to winter's verso and minor missing chip to one of the stars; missing tip to one of spring's budding branches, full restoration of the calla lily to the right side

Literature:

H. Adams, Viktor Schreckengost and 20th-Century Design, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, 2000, pp. 54-5, illustrated p. 55; H. Adams, Viktor Schreckengost: American Da Vinci, Tide-Mark Press LTD., Windsor, Connecticut, 2006, p. 51.EXHIBITED: Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, "20th May Show," May 4 - June 12, 1938 (Special Award for Ceramic Sculpture); Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts, Syracuse, New York, "7th Ceramic National Exhibition," 1938; San Francisco, California, "Golden Gate International Exhibition," 1939; San Diego Fine Arts Gallery, San Diego, California, 1940; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1940; Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, 1940; Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri, 1940; John Herron Art Institute, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1940; University of Indiana, 1940; Houston, Texas, 1941; San Antonio, Texas, 1941; Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, "Viktor Schreckengost and 20th-Century Design," November 12, 2000-February 4, 2001. Delaware Art Museum, 2006; Attleboro Arts Museum, Attleboro, Massachusetts, "Viktor Schreckengost Legacy Exhibition," March 21-May 16, 2008.Viktor's technical notes record the following: "SUMMER: Modelled directly in red clay. White & Blackbird slip. White & turquoise borax glaze. FALL: Modelled directly in red clay. Blackbird engobe & white slip. White & turquoise borax glaze. SPRING: Modelled in red clay. Green engobe. White & Blackbird slip. White & turquoise borax glaze in spots. WINTER: Modelled directly in red clay. White slip on face. Blackbird clay. White & turquoise glaze."Viktor modelled each of these majestic heads with their mysterious mask-like faces directly in red clay. He differentiated the individual seasons they represented through applied ornamentation-such as twinkling ice crystals for Winter and prominent leaves and clusters of mature flowers for Summer. In addition, he gave each personification a different skin color through a coat of slip: a sharp white for Winter, gentle green like a new shoot for Spring, ruddy suntan for Summer; and deep bronze for Fall. When sculptor Waylande Gregory, an advisor for the 1939 New York World's Fair saw these magnificent sculptures, he urged Viktor to make a proposal for four similar ceramic heads to be displayed in the United States Building at the fair. Viktor responded with the show-stopping The Four Elements which were installed on ten-foot-high pedestals with beams of light streaming from their eyes.