Mantel Clock or Shelf Clock c. 1938

Curator: Looking at this piece, I’m immediately struck by a sense of nostalgia and quiet dignity. It has the air of a beloved antique from my grandmother’s parlor! Editor: Precisely! We’re looking at “Mantel Clock or Shelf Clock,” a watercolor drawing by Samuel Fineman, dating to around 1938. It depicts exactly what the title suggests—a handsome clock. Curator: It's more than handsome! The warm, reddish-brown wood tones, the precise rendering of the clock face… I get the feeling this artist really cared about this object, felt its presence deeply. Editor: Certainly. Consider the context: the late 1930s, the tail end of the Great Depression. A detailed drawing of a common, yet valuable, household object speaks to both practicality and aspirational aesthetics. Curator: Absolutely. And the emblem beneath the clock face—an eagle, flanked by classical figures – it reminds me of grand, yet comforting, ideals. Almost like a security blanket of civics! Editor: It's intriguing. Perhaps that emblem was part of the clock's design, suggesting civic pride. It could be the artist subtly commenting on the need for societal order and continuity during those turbulent years. Curator: It could even be a nod to a simpler, more reliable past, couldn’t it? The solidity of that clock is almost defiant—a promise of time continuing to tick even when the world feels like it's spinning off its axis. Editor: Indeed. The way Fineman uses watercolor gives the piece a softness, which tempers the rigidity one might expect from such a formally composed drawing. He manages to blend utility and understated elegance here, reflecting on a desire for structure amidst an era of widespread change. Curator: It makes me consider time’s passage in a new way. Not as something cold and mechanical, but almost as a comforting, grounding presence. Editor: It certainly urges us to reflect on how everyday objects often carry deep social and political meanings that might at first be obscured. Curator: A humble clock. I now see it isn’t just about hours and minutes, but about history, hope, and how we see our place within the turning of time itself.