'Britain's War Workers' (Eight unknown sitters)
- Artist: Unknown photographer
- Date: 1914-1918
- Medium: bromide postcard print
- Dimensions: 3 1/2 in. x 5 3/8 in. (90 mm x 138 mm) overall
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
0:00/0:00
About this artwork
In this bromide postcard print you see eight figures—women standing side‑by‑side, each with hands clasped or holding tools. Their clothes suggest work in factories: simple shirts, trousers and headgear. The image is crisp yet intimate, with a muted background that keeps the focus on the workers’ faces. Produced between 1914 and 1918, it illustrates how women filled roles once held by men during the war. This small print (about 90 × 138 mm) was given to us in 2015.
See it in person
'Britain's War Workers' (Eight unknown sitters) is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
