Woman Looking Through a Microscope painting by Cliff Rowe, 1966

Cliff Rowe (1904-1989) was an artist that used his paintbrush to draw attention to the ideas he believed in. He spent much of his professional life visiting factories and painting the workers that he saw, it is these images that dominate the vast collection that was donated by the artist to PHM in 1985. The painting here of a female scientist at work reflects a common theme for Rowe; one that is fascinating to reflect upon from a contemporary perspective.

Rowe lived and worked in Russia in the early 1930s, at a time when back home Britain was going through the Great Depression. His experiences would see him go on to create the Artists’ International Association in 1933, the aim of which was to use art as an influential tool in the class struggle and to promote peace. Rowe’s own story is as intriguing as the work that he produced.

Kloe Rumsey, Conservator at People’s History Museum, says ‘I love the style, colour use, and changes in the collection we have at PHM, but I particularly love the depictions of women in science and industry. The professional and unromantic insight into women’s everyday lives of the time is rare and very valuable to today’s audiences. They are often painted on MDF wood which deteriorates badly, so we have been cataloguing, recording, and storing them safely; and there is much more to discover in the rest of the collection.’