Donald Schreckengost

Donald Schreckengost (died December 24, 2001), younger brother of famed industrial designer Viktor Schreckengost, was himself a talented artist and designer. Donald A. Schreckengost was born in Sebring, Ohio, United States to a family which had a longtime interest in ceramics. His father worked at an ceramics factory and challenged his six children to regular sculpture contests, using material he had brought home from work. As an adult, Schreckengost designed pieces for the Salem China Company, the Homer Laughlin China Company and The Hall China Company. From the 1930s through the 1940s, Schreckengost designed dinnerware for Hall China. From the 1940s through the late 1950s, he worked as Director of Design at Homer Laughlin. He also worked as a full professor and Design Department Chairman of the New York State College of Ceramics. Along with his brother Viktor, Schreckengost was awarded the prestigious Charles Fergus Binns Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Ceramic Art. In 1960, Schreckengost returned to Hall China, where he produced a wide variety of pieces. Among these were duck casserole dishes, owl cookie jars and Sherlock Holmes and Ronald Reaganteapots. He also designed a number of commemorative whiskey decanters for Hall China. Schreckengost's tile designs were produced through Ohio manufacturer Summitville Tile. They are fixtures in the Philadelphia subway, the home of golfer Arnold Palmer, and the home of the American Vice-President in Washington, DC. Schreckengost's work has been displayed in the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, the Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art, and the Smithsonian Institution.