![]() ![]() But in the 1980s, the National Archives in Washington featured a copy of the “We Can Do It” poster in one of its exhibits and, according to Bird, “began to merchandise that image on all manner of paraphernalia in their shop.” After seeing the National Archives exhibit, Bird acquired an original “We Can Do It” poster from Miller for the Smithsonian. Miller’s poster was circulated in Westinghouse factories during the war and subsequently disappeared. But Bird points out, its intent didn’t “have much to do with empowering people in terms of anything other to complete assignments on time.” One illustration that has not stood the test of time, for instance, featured a bespectacled man holding rolled up blueprints, with a caption that reads: “Any Questions about your work? Ask you supervisor." The “We Can Do It” poster, with its electric-yellow background and robust Rosie, is considerably more arresting. #Rosie the riveter tools of the trade series#Howard Miller, who created a series of images for Westinghouse. The “We Can Do It” poster was drawn by Pittsburgh-based artist J. “These were basically a way that factory managers were able to routinize their labor force, many women who had not had factory jobs before because they weren't available would be acquainted with how we do things here,” Bird explains. Bird, a curator at the National Museum of American History and co-author of the book Design for Victory, tells that industrial companies frequently ran poster campaigns with various instructions for new women employees: return your tools at the end of the day, don’t take too many breaks, keep the workplace clean, and so on. Though the “We Can Do It” poster has in recent years become a ubiquitous feminist symbol, it was first created as a wartime poster for the Westinghouse Electric Corporation’s plants. If Fraley lived much of her life in obscurity it is, in part, because nobody was looking for her. Fraley, in other words, might very well have been the real Rosie the Riveter.įaustine Garbrecht's 2001 bronze sculpture of Rosie the RiveterĪrt Inventories Catalog, Smithsonian American Art Museums/Restricted Owner Oklahoma City Oklahoma But several years before her death, a scholar put forth a compelling case arguing that the photo of Fraley at the Naval Air Station had inspired one of the most iconic images to emerge from the World War II era: the vibrant “We Can Do It” poster, which features a defiant Rosie the Riveter with her bicep curled and her hair wrapped up in a polka-dot bandana-not unlike the one that Fraley wore on the job. Her blouse is crisp, her hair secured safely in a polka-dot bandana.įraley, who died on Saturday at the age of 96, stayed out of the spotlight for most of her long life. In the resulting black-and-white image, which was published widely in the spring and summer of 1942, Fraley leans intently over a metalworking lathe used to produce duplicate parts. While taking photos at the base, the photographer snapped a picture of 20-year-old Naomi Parker Fraley, who, like many women in the 1940s, had taken an industrial job to help with the war effort. In 1942, something strange-and mildly scandalous-happened at the Naval Air Station in Alameda, California: due to safety concerns, the base commander instructed all women employees working with machinery to wear pantsuits.Īt the time, pants-clad women were such an unusual sight that a photojournalist from the Acme photo agency was sent to document the scene. Though displayed only briefly in Westinghouse factories, the poster in later year has become one of the most famous icons of World War II. Howard Miller produced this work-incentive poster for the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company. ![]()
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