The Church Tower, Portsmouth 1921

Childe Hassam created this etching of The Church Tower, Portsmouth, where the clock tower, a stoic sentinel, rises above the town like a beacon of temporal order. The clock tower, a universal symbol of time, has its roots in ancient sundials and water clocks, evolving through medieval bell towers that regulated monastic life. In Hassam’s etching, this tower presents a duality. The clock symbolizes the rational, measured world but also the ceaseless march forward, stirring a collective anxiety about mortality. Consider the presence of clock towers in De Chirico's paintings, where they evoke a sense of melancholy and timelessness. This motif isn't merely about telling time, it is about our psychological relationship with time itself. The clock tower in Hassam’s print, with its subtle shadow play, engages us in a dialogue about time's relentless rhythm, leaving us to ponder our fleeting existence in the grand tapestry of history.