Watch and Fob

Date1829

Artist J. A. Tilles (active ca. 1829)

OriginAmerica, New Jersey, Mercer County

MediumWatercolor and ink on wove paper

DimensionsOther (Primary Support): 8 13/16 × 6 13/16 in (22.38 × 17.3cm)
Framed: 10 5/8 × 8 5/8 × 11/16 in (26.99 × 21.91 × 1.75cm)

Credit LineGift of the Museum of Modern Art

Object number1931.303.10

DescriptionWatercolor still life of large round pocket- watch suspended from a picot ribbon with bold blue and yellow stripes and red pinstripes. Encircled above the knot is an ornamented, gold-colored slide. The seal and watch key dangle from the ring held by the knot.
The 1-inch reeded frame, painted black, is a period replacement.Label TextThe time shown on the watch face is widely believed to represent the hour of George R. H Slack's death, on May 8, 1829, or, alternatively, his birth on that day. However, no genealogical data have been found to confirm either theory to date.
Red pinstripes set off bolder, brighter stripes of yellow and blue in the picot ribbon, which is encircled above its knot by an ornamented, gold-colored slide. A seal and watch key dangle from the ring held by the knot.Inscription(s)In the lower margin in ink is "GEORGE R H SLACK'S MAY 8TH 1829," and in very small letters in ink to the right of the preceding is damaged and barely discernible lettering that may read: "J (or S?) A Tiles."ProvenanceFound in Washington, Conn., by Edith Gregor Halpert, Downtown Gallery, New York, NY; purchased from Halpert by Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.; given to the Museum of Modern Art by Rockefeller in 1939; given to CWF by the Museum of Modern Art in June 1954.