At the Whitby Hotel lobby in New York sits an extraordinary reinterpretation of a long case or grandfather clock. The kind of reinterpretation that would enchant a young child too young to discern fact from fantasy. It’s body I find unappealing, but nevertheless its rather clunky, geometric, rusted metal case does the job of making it clear this is not meant to be a pretty period piece.
The dial is where the real magic and originality begin. It is a video of the artist, as if from the inside, drawing on and then removing the time by textar and precisely at every minute mark. It is indeed the work of an artist both obsessed and committed to getting this right. It is playful, it is haunting and while I don’t have children young enough to have them spell-bound by it, I would be willing to bet that every week in New York City there is a child that looks up, neck craned, asking questions of curiosity and interest. The artist is Maarten Baas and he exhibits with Carpenters Workshop Gallery, which enjoys a network of international offices. I dare say it would also be a lot easier to maintain than a true long case clock but may not exude as much aesthetic pleasure as the marvellous example we recently sold in our Sydney saleroom for $32,500 (IBP) pictured below.
For me, this short story is about the intersection between innovative art and a collecting pastime that has largely faded, for these truly interesting time pieces. But for the collector of the mechanical and the complex, they remain an enduring example of how so often form is dictated by function. You see, before the short swing of a pendulum was perfected, it was simply not possible to encase a timepiece in this lengthened form!
By John Albrecht, Managing Director & Head of Important Collections
Top Image (Detail): Real Time Grandfather Clock Corten by Maarten Baas. Image Courtesy Carpenters Workshop Gallery
December 2025