Robert’s Argyle Street studio looked across at Citadel Hill in downtown Halifax. There was a controversy at this time about the construction of tall buildings that blocked views of the harbour from vantage points on Citadel Hill. The Old Town Clock, one of Halifax’s most recognizable landmarks, was built in 1803 at the base of the hill to counter the tardiness of soldiers who worked in the military fortress of the Citadel. It is one of the city’s outstanding buildings: three tiered, with four faces on the upper stories featuring a domed copula and clock, and supported by a circular columnated base in a Palladian style. Robert did many drawings of this historic structure. This is his most whimsical, though he touches on the theme of the disappearance of time and history and the conflict between past and present.