RIP Rosie the Riveter

April 23, 2015 7:26 AM

Norman Rockwell's image of "Rosie the Riveter" — not to be confused with the J. Howard Miller poster — received mass distribution on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post on Memorial Day, May 29, 1943. Rockwell's illustration features a brawny woman taking her lunch break with a rivet gun on her lap and beneath her penny loafer a copy of Hitler's manifesto, Mein Kampf. Mary Doyle, a 19-year-old telephone operator who lived in Arlington, Vermont, and made $10 for posing for Rockwell's iconic image, was no where near as brawny in real life. Mary Doyle Keefe passed away on 21 April at the age of 92.
posted by terrapin (19 comments total)

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posted by radwolf76 at 7:36 AM on April 23, 2015

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posted by Cash4Lead at 7:38 AM on April 23, 2015

I hope she always enjoyed the recognition and had fun with it.

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posted by BlueHorse at 7:40 AM on April 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

I have a love/hate relationship with Rockwell's work, and "Rosie" is a "love." It's nice to know that the model had a long, and what sounds like a rich, life. And I like the picture of her on this obit very much.
posted by EvaDestruction at 7:42 AM on April 23, 2015 [3 favorites]

She was the best kind of Yankee.
posted by maryr at 7:44 AM on April 23, 2015 [3 favorites]

My grandmother was a riveter at the Richmond Shipyards during WWII. She actually looked a lot like the woman in the J. Howard Miller piece, so I'm always reminded of her when I see the "We Can Do It" poster. Thanks, grandma, and all of those women at the shipyards, for your pioneering service. Thanks for posting!
posted by k8bot at 7:49 AM on April 23, 2015 [5 favorites]

In lieu of a dot: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivet#/media/File:Rivet01.jpg
posted by Gelatin at 7:56 AM on April 23, 2015 [3 favorites]

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posted by Banknote of the year at 8:00 AM on April 23, 2015

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posted by Rock Steady at 8:15 AM on April 23, 2015

I have a love/love relationship with Rockwell's work and Rosie the Riveter is a love.

. for Mary Doyle Keefe.
posted by entropicamericana at 8:56 AM on April 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

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posted by JoeXIII007 at 9:02 AM on April 23, 2015

My grandmother Rose worked at a North American Aircraft plant during WWII and was transferred to bucking rivets (i.e. holding the bar the rivet is flattened against) on V-J Day, so she only did the job for one day before being laid off.

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posted by The Tensor at 9:48 AM on April 23, 2015 [4 favorites]

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posted by schmod at 10:04 AM on April 23, 2015 [2 favorites]

Anyone who can eat a sandwich while nonchalantly treading on Mein Kampf is OK with me. Remember to punch a Nazi (or at least a fascist today), in commemoration. Tell 'em Rosie sent you.
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:14 AM on April 23, 2015 [5 favorites]

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posted by brujita at 10:18 AM on April 23, 2015

I always liked this illustration as an interesting alt-pinup; an atypical figure presented as an object of lovliness with a bit of the ol' Rockwell schmaltz layered on top. This though kind of tripped me out:

Rockwell painted his "Rosie" as a larger woman than his model, and he later phoned to apologize

Rockwell is a hardass painter-from-life; where'd he get the body? Like, yeah, imagination is a thing but I have a hard time imagining this artist wasn't pulling from an uncredited source.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 10:35 AM on April 23, 2015

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posted by Mental Wimp at 11:58 AM on April 23, 2015

A name by any other Rose:

Here's a Youtube of the 1942 song written by Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb. Its lyrics were inspired by a Long Island woman named Rosalind P. Walter.

Not to be confused with J. Howard Miller's Rose Munroe. Phew!
posted by Twang at 2:11 PM on April 23, 2015

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posted by oceanjesse at 6:23 AM on April 24, 2015