Just today, I read that the woman who modelled for the iconic Rosie the Riveter propaganda poster, Geraldine Doyle, passed on from complications due to arthritis on December 26, 2010. The story of her likeness being used as inspiration for Rosie is a fascinating one.
Ms. Doyle, worked less than two weeks in a metal fabrication plant in Lansing Michigan and was never assigned riveting as part of her duties while at the factory.During this brief time some U.S. government commissioned photographers snapped a photograph of her leaning over a piece machinery in a polka-dot bandana. A classically trained cellist, Ms. Doyle, quit her job at the factory after concerns about the damage factory work was having on her hands. She later sought employment in soda fountains and bookshops and eventually married and had a family. In life, Ms. Doyle did not possess the muscular physique that her illustrated counterpart did.
The photograph that was taken on that fateful day took on a life of it own, originally as an illustration (painted by J. Howard Miller) to inspire women to support the war effort by working in factories with the motto "We can do it," and eventually inspiring a hit song
Rosie the Riveter, by Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb, becoming a symbol of the feminist movement, and adorning various pieces of apparel and merchandise in the post-modern era.
Although many have profited from the image of Rosie the Riveter, Geraldine Doyle never received compensation for her lasting impact on the War Effort and popular culture. Rest in Peace Geraldine Doyle. We salute you.
