Irving Harper Decorative Objects

Mid-Century Modern kite wall clock by George Nelson, Howard Miller, Vitra Label George Nelson (American, 1908-1986) Group of Table and Wall Clocks for Howard Miller, Vitra Design Museum, Poland/Germany, designed 1949-1954 Vitra Design Museum labels, With battery-operated mechanisms The Kite clock...

This is a large, vintage leather elephant sculpture. A three foot tall, at trunk (72cm to back) striding elephant model dating to the mid-20th...

“Meridian” clock designed by George Nelson for the Howard Miller Clock Company. Face is made of “Rimini Blue” Italian ceramic designed by Aldo Londi for Bitossi, battery operated.

Large amorphic handblown bullicante glass sculpture with air bubble inclusions has unique shape from all angles. Beautiful light reflections throughout.

Iconic and classic Howard Miller ball clock from the 1950's by George Nelson. Wonderful Atomic style with a central clock motif with 50's styl...

Rare "Olympus" table clock by Howard Miller Clock Company. From the 1984 "Tempo 21" collection. The circular red clock face is upheld by a green pyramid base...

Interestingly, while nearly all of the designs that came out of George’s studio were attributed to him, many were actually designed by him and his team. Some were even designed solely by someone else working at the studio. Nelson famously recounted the story of how the Ball Clock came to life in an interview decades after it’s release: “It was one of the really funny evenings. Noguchi came by, Bucky Fuller came by, and here was Irving, and here was I, and Noguchi - who can’t keep his hands off anything - he saw we were working on clocks and started making doodles. Then Bucky sort of brushed Isamu aside. He said, ‘This is a good way to do a clock’ and made some utterly absurd thing. Everybody was taking a crack at this, pushing each other aside and making scribbles. At some point we left – we were suddenly all tired, and we’d had a little bit too much to drink – and the next morning I came back, and here was this roll of paper, and Irving and I looked at it, and somewhere in this roll, there was a ball clock. I don’t know to this day who cooked it up.” Nevertheless, whoever it was that came up with George Nelson’s designs, it’s almost certain that they would never have come to fruition if it wasn’t for George’s vision and forward-thinking approach. Can you tell me more about his clocks? George’s clocks were one of his most impressive bodies of work. In total, he and his team designed over 130 clocks in just three decades. While it is widely accepted that Irving Harper was the lead designer for the Howard Miller Clock Company at George Nelson Associates, the collection arose after two insightful observations from George: one, that people no longer used the numbers to tell the time; and two, that since most people now used their wristwatch to tell the time, interior clocks were now free to become more decorative in nature. The clocks were designed and released in batches of 8 and were initially only given numbers for names. The Sunflower Clock was simply ‘Clock 2261’, the Flock of Butterflies Clock was 'Clock 2226’, and so on. The Ball was the first clock designed by George and his team and it was followed shortly after by the Star, Sunburst, Spindle, Asterisk, Turbine, Flock of Butterflies, Eye and others. The clocks were purposefully abstract and were designed to complement the modernist furniture emerging at the time. As well as wall clocks, George’s studio also produced a series of desk clocks during that time, most notably the bubble-shaped Night Desk...

Vintage 1950s George Nelson ball clock for George Nelson and Associates and Howard Miller. This clock was designed with Irving Harper in 1949, and was the first among several iconic clock...

Authentic pop art crinkled brown paper bag sculpture by Michael Harvey of Canada circa 1970s.

Modernist TOTEM mask abstract aluminum sculpture standing 4 feet tall. Artist unknown.

An original George Nelson ( 1908- 1986) Mid Century Modern Ball Clock model 4755. This iconic clock features a distinctive and modern design with a mid-century aesthetic. The centr...

A striking and substantial 105cm tall abstract bronze sculptures of a couple, featuring beautiful verdigris patina. This unique contemporary piece is meticulously hand crafted by the...