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Electric clock

Designer Gilbert Rohde American
ca. 1933
Not on view
Rohde was known primarily as a furniture maker whose progressive designs were produced by well-known manufacturers such as Heywood Wakefield, Troy Sunshade, John Widdicomb, Herman Miller, and Thonet. In 1932 and 1933 he created a series of clocks for the Herman Miller Clock Company that were remarkable for their daringly advanced designs. The transparent glass face of this example is suspended in front of a chromed diagonal support, its sharp angle abstractly reinforcing a sense of dynamic motion. The "numerals"—slashes of white—seem to float on the clear glass surface, highlighting the sharp, dominant black hour hand. The color scheme of black, red, and silver and the use of sleek materials such as chrome and glass typify the kind of furnishings that complemented luxury interiors of the 1930s. Although most people were struggling to make ends meet during the decade-long Great Depression, the elegant penthouse atop a skyscraper apartment building represented a privileged fantasy world that dominated Hollywood movie sets as well as designs for luxury city dwellings created by the most contemporary architects and designers.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Electric clock
  • Designer: Gilbert Rohde (American, New York 1894–1944 New York)
  • Manufacturer: The Herman Miller Furniture Company, Zeeland, Michigan
  • Date: ca. 1933
  • Medium: Chrome-plated and painted metal, glass
  • Dimensions: 12 1/8 × 12 1/2 × 3 1/2 in., 5.3 lb. (30.8 × 31.8 × 8.9 cm, 2.4 kg)
  • Classification: Horology
  • Credit Line: John C. Waddell Collection, Gift of John C. Waddell, 2000
  • Object Number: 2000.600.15
  • Rights and Reproduction: © Herman Miller Inc.
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

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Side Chair, Gilbert Rohde American, Beech with walnut stain and vinyl upholstery
Side Chair
Gilbert Rohde
ca. 1934
Electric clock, Gilbert Rohde American, Brazilian rosewood, chrome
Electric clock
Gilbert Rohde
The Herman Miller Furniture Company, Zeeland, Michigan
ca. 1935
Standing Lamp (Prototype), Gilbert Rohde American, Chromed and painted metal
Standing Lamp (Prototype)
Gilbert Rohde
ca. 1935
Desk Lamp, Gilbert Rohde American, Chrome-plated steel, brass
Desk Lamp
Gilbert Rohde
Mutual-Sunset Lamp Manufacturing Company, Inc., Brooklyn, NY
1933
Chair, Gilbert Rohde American, Black lacquered wood
Chair
Gilbert Rohde
1935–36

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