Henry Edward Bedford (1860–1932) was an American painter and sculptor who designed the four-faced clock on top of the information booth located in

Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...

in New York City. As a painter, Henry E. Bedford was best known for his studies of the Maine coast. The

American Art Annual The ''American Art Directory'' is a yearly publication covering art museums, arts centers, and art educational institutions as well as news, obituaries, book and magazine publications, etc. related to the artistic community in the United States ...

reported Bedford's sudden demise on October 29, 1932, on the train ride from Maine to Brooklyn. The death notice stated that "… he was especially fond of reproducing the scenery of Maine, and his landscapes and marines won him much praise from critics…" Henry E. Bedford is listed in key art reference publications such as Who Was Who in American Art and was a member of the

Salmagundi Club The Salmagundi Club, sometimes referred to as the Salmagundi Art Club, is a fine arts center founded in 1871 in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan, New York City. Since 1917, it has been located at 47 Fifth Avenue. , its membership roster ...

. He also can be found online on Askart.com and Artprice.com. The Bedford family had a long history in the clock and watch industry. Alfred Bedford, Henry's father, was a "member of the original Tiffany and Company and the London representative of the

Waltham Watch Company The Waltham Watch Company, also known as the American Waltham Watch Co. and the American Watch Co., was a company that produced about 40 million watches, clocks, speedometers, compasses, time delay fuses, and other precision instruments in the Un ...

." Henry E. Bedford, along with his uncle, Edward T. Bedford, and his brother, Alfred C. Bedford, were executives of the

Self Winding Clock Company The Self Winding Clock Company (SWCC) was a major manufacturer of electromechanical clocks from 1886 until about 1970. Based in New York City, the company was one of the first to power its clocks with an electric motor instead of winding by hand. ...

. Henry E. Bedford reportedly retired from the company in the mid-1920s. His obituary in the

stated that Henry Bedford designed "several other large clocks" in addition to the famous one in Grand Central Terminal. His death announcement in

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

, notes "he designed the clock in the Grand Central Station and several other large clocks here ew Haven, CTand in other cities."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bedford, Henry Edward 1860 births 1932 deaths American landscape painters 19th-century American painters American male painters 20th-century American painters 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists 19th-century American sculptors 19th-century American male artists American male sculptors