January 9, 2013
The exhibition Precision & Splendor: Clocks and Watches at The Frick Collection takes place January 23, 2013 to February 2, 2014. The Frick Art Reference Library contains the library of Winthrop Kellogg (“Kelly”) Edey (1938-1999), whose collection of clocks and watches was bequeathed to The Frick Collection in 1999. The Library is open to the public without charge and without the need for an appointment.
Edey was the grandson of the engineer Morris W. Kellogg, who had made his fortune designing and building oil refineries. After studying at Amherst College and the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, Edey led an eccentric—almost Proustian—life, getting up at 5:00 p.m. and, after an evening out, returning to his West 83rd Street townhouse (preserved in its original state) and working through the night on clocks or writing in his diary.
He was also a friend of Andy Warhol, who included him in his 13 Most Beautiful Boys film (1963-66), and of Robert Mapplethorpe.
His library consisted of 4,322 volumes, including 183 works on clocks, 372 on Egyptology and 312 on classical subjects. The Frick Art Reference Library kept 1,425 titles from the original library. Many of the books have Edey’s annotations.
Edey’s annotated copy of Maurice Rheims, The Strange Life of Objects (New York, 1961)