Longcase clock

This early example of a domestic longcase clock was made by the convict artist James Oatley. Soon after his arrival in Sydney in 1815, Oatley’s specialist skills were identified by the administration and he was subsequently appointed as Keeper of the Town Clock by Governor Lachlan Macquarie. Before long he had established himself as the young colony’s best clock- and watchmaker.

In his creation of the longcase clock, Oatley utilised the expertise of various convict artists to fabricate the intricate internal clock movements and the cabinetry. Based on typical late eighteenth-century English pattern book designs, the timberwork cabinetry shows a neoclassical swan-neck pediment and reeded columns and demonstrates a particular British Sheraton influence in its use of veneer and stringing inlay. The notable break from British traditions nonetheless can be seen in its use of local timbers such as red cedar and the lighter-coloured casuarina pine, evident in the decorative inlay. Only seventeen dated and numbered clocks by Oatley are known and this example is by far in the best condition. Purchased in 1840 by a George Street Sydney saddle-maker, John Brush, it remained in the Brush family until entering the Art Gallery’s collection in 2019.

Above all, the clock is a testament to the improvisation and rich hybridity of early Australian colonial art.

Tracey Lock, Curator of Australian Paintings and Sculpture