A Woman's Work

Mother Theresa said ""I can do things you cannot. You can do things I cannot. Together, we can do great things."  Look through the eyes of artists whose paintings reside in the the Grohmann Museum Collection, and through the quotes of great writers and thinkers, who celebrate the hard work and perseverance of women throughout the centuries. 

In "A Midsummer Night's Dream" William Shakespeare said of Hermia: "Though she may be small, she be fierce." Even the littlest girls on the farm were expected to help. Here, we see Janet walking behind her father as he plows his field. On her back is a pack which likely contains seeds. Holes in the bottom allow the seeds to fall into the furrow as she walks along.

The woman working here gathering sheaves of wheat is working right along side the men, doing the same job. The artist's spirit of French nationalism is clear in her dress representing the colors of the French flag. Eleanor Roosevelt famously said of a woman's strength: "A woman is like a teabag; you never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water."  

Not all work was done in the fields. Women processed animals, fished, and worked alongside their families to produce textile and leather goods. This artist portrays women stripping feathers to be used in bedding and for writing quills. 

In "Little Women" Louisa May Alcott's character Amy states: "I am not afraid of storms for I am learning to sail my ship." Just as farm women harvested the fruits of the field, the women who lived on the coasts harvested all the fruits of the sea. These women are gathering seaweed. Seaweed was nutrient-rich, feeding people, animals, and the soil. It was also valued for its medicinal properties.

Just as agricultural families were crucial to food production for all, artisan families were crucial for the production of clothing, wood, textiles, and leather goods. The family here works together spinning yarn, carving wood, and teaching a young child.

Until the Industrial Era, cloth was made in homes on looms such as this one. The artist paints the sunlight so vividly here as good light is key for the weaver to have while working.

Women played important roles in the production of beer and wine. They picked grapes and hops, crushed fruit into juices, worked the mash tubs, and even made corks for the bottles. 

Not all women were mothers, homemakers, farmers, or fishers. Women owned and worked in shops, were cabinetmakers, carpenters, miners, and worked in construction. The women in this painting is making Passementerie - or decorative ribbon and cord trims for clothing and upolstery.

Michelle Obama was once quoted, "The one way to get me to work my hardest was to doubt me." Undeterred by those who doubted, women also ditched their skirts and donned pants to crawl deep into the earth to mine alongside men. Working conditions were miserable and dangerous, but women and children continued working the mines in England until the Mines Act of 1842.

Maya Angelou said "It won't work unless you do." This young lady seems to have captivated the artists eye while doing her job in a galvanizing factory in Brooklyn, New York. He shows her smiling face doing a job that was hot, steamy, and dirty. Steel is first cleaned, then dipped into zinc vats to form a protective, anti-rust coating. 

Thank you for walking through history and taking a deeper look at ways women have worked throughout the centuries. If we are to understand where we are going, and  become catalysts for innovation and change, we must first understand how we got to where we are today. Women throughout history did the work that needed to be done simply because it needed to get done. Women continue to do that today.