‘Time Wave’

The Victorian clock outside the Shepard Company Building on Westminster Street has long been an iconic landmark of Providence, so much so that locals often used the phrase “meet me under the Shepard’s Clock” when meeting up with someone.

In 1998, a work of art titled “Time Wave” by sculptor Robert Ellison was installed on the Washington Street side of the building as part of its rehabilitation, paying homage to the iconic clock while giving it a surrealistically pop and humorous twist.

Unlike the original cast-iron clock on Westminster Street, “Time Wave” is a unique, undeniably modern piece, appearing to be on the verge of toppling, collapsing, and melting away all at once. The art timepiece is painted in turquoise, purple, and orange, in a tone that might remind the viewer of something straight out of their most whimsical dreams.