Eustis Estate
Woman Working in a Kitchen
Unknown artist
Northeastern United States, 1880–1900
Oil on board
20 ¼ x 24 5/8 in.
Gift of the Joan Pearson Watkins Trust
2016.64.2
While images of men working are celebrated in art history circles, in American paintings women are more often recorded at leisure. Here a woman stands before a window leaning over a table kneading dough. The curvature of her spine and her strong arms reflect years of hard work. Her kitchen, a room celebrated today as “the heart of the home,” is clearly a work space more than a place to gather.