Eli Terry Clock 1940

Herman O. Stroh, born in 1855, painted this Eli Terry Clock with what looks like watercolour on paper, and it’s just fascinating, isn’t it? The way the light catches the wood grain, it’s all about process. Looking at the surface, you see this dance between control and chance. The colours are muted, earthy, but there’s a vibrancy, particularly in the clock face, with the contrast of the gold trim. Stroh really understands the physicality of his medium. It’s not just about representation; it’s about the texture, the feel. Notice the way the pigment settles in the details of the decorative elements atop of the clock, pooling in the shadows, creating depth. It’s like he’s breathing life into this object, celebrating its form. I’m reminded of Charles Demuth’s watercolours. Like Demuth, Stroh finds poetry in the everyday, elevating the ordinary into something extraordinary. It’s this kind of exchange, this conversation across time, that makes art so endlessly exciting.