Doll:Field Nurse

Before World War II, doll artist Sara Goldsmith (1902-1999) and her brother worked as puppeteers. When her brother joined the military, Goldsmith placed 300 marionettes in storage and took an office job in a factory making war materials. When Goldsmith learned that women would be asked to join the nation's Civilian Defense program, she was determined to make dolls honoring those who were unaccustomed to working outside the home. Goldsmith made a factory and office workers, canteen and American Red Cross volunteers, a nurse and nurse's aide, and an outdoor worker. She fabricated her dolls of composition, reproduced the uniforms issued to the female workers, and placed the set of dolls in a series of exhibits in East Coast cities to raise funds for war projects.