Clock @ the d'Orsay

If a photo could be Helen of Troy, this would be it: the iconic clock at the Musée d'Orsay. Yes, it´s been photographed to death - a deserved death, no? - but this is the photo that (for me) launched a thousand ships. This is the photo, this is the clock that told me what I wanted to do. We´ve sold this photo from Paris´ train-station-turned-museum to dozens of individuals over the years - from NY boardrooms to the living rooms of your neighbours (not sure how literally you can take the latter). Like most things in life, this stunning clock started its life as something else: a clock at the Gare d'Orsay to tell rail passengers whether they were running late or not. At the beginning of the last century, all southwesternly-bound trains departed from the d’Orsay train station, but as the rail industry modernized, the d'Orsay station was used less and less, and eventually - during WWII - was delegated to its penultimate role as a mail depot, sending packages to prisoners of war. Almost demolished in 1970 (horror!), it was soon after agreed that it would be the new home to a stunning collection of "modern" art, from Van Gogh to Gaugin & the Musée d´Orsay was born. (Photo: Clock @ the d´Orsay, Paris, France - © Urban Caravan Photography.)