Women’s Work: On Munitions - Skilled Work c. 1917

Editor: This is Archibald Standish Hartrick’s "Women’s Work: On Munitions - Skilled Work," from the Tate Collections. It depicts a woman working a machine. There's a real sense of quiet concentration here. What symbols stand out to you? Curator: Notice how the woman's gaze is directed not at us but intensely at her task. The machine itself becomes a potent symbol. During wartime, they symbolized both progress and destruction. The woman operating it bridges these concepts. What does her presence suggest to you in terms of cultural memory? Editor: I see a changing role for women, but also perhaps the grim necessity of war. It's a powerful and unsettling image. Curator: Precisely. Hartrick captures a moment where gender roles and societal expectations were reshaped by conflict, leaving a lasting imprint on our collective consciousness.