Collection
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Decorative Arts and Design

"Ball" Wall Clock

Irving Harper; for George Nelson Associates

1 of 2

Object Label

The Ball wall clock, sometimes called the Atomic clock, has become an icon of mid-twentieth century American design. It was the star of a line commissioned by the Howard Miller Clock Company to update its collection for a new, postwar generation of consumers. The rods and spheres evoking the structure of the atom introduced a modern scientific note into home or office interiors.

Caption

Irving Harper (American, 1916–2015); for George Nelson Associates. "Ball" Wall Clock, 1948–1969. Painted birch, steel, brass, 13 1/2 x 13 1/2 x 2 3/4 in. (34.3 x 34.3 x 7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, H. Randolph Lever Fund, 2000.101.1. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Title

"Ball" Wall Clock

Date

1948–1969

Geography

Place manufactured: Zeeland, Michigan, United States

Medium

Painted birch, steel, brass

Classification

Time, Calendar

Dimensions

13 1/2 x 13 1/2 x 2 3/4 in. (34.3 x 34.3 x 7 cm)

Markings

Decal label, black on gold: "Howard Miller Clock Company [in script] / ZEELAND, MICHIGAN / 115 v. 60 CY 2 WATTS / PATTERN N." At left in circle between inverted "U" shapes: "chronograph [in script]"

Credit Line

H. Randolph Lever Fund

Accession Number

2000.101.1

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Artists and makers

Irving Harper

1 work in the collection

George Nelson Associates

2 works in the collection

Howard Miller Clock Co.

9 works in the collection