Focus on Ruby Loftus Screwing a Breech-ring and explain the Reception.
Ruby Loftus was exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition on 30 April 1943. Loftus was present that day to see the picture, and was interviewed by the press about her involvement. The following day the painting was reproduced in several national newspapers. The critic for The Times thought the picture had "a certain brutal vigour", that made it "hard to take in all the detail without strain"; W. T. Oliver, writing in The Yorkshire Post found "little pleasure in Dame Laura's brand of realism", but admired "her energy, her disciplined thoroughness and conviction".A "Warwork News" newsreel featuring the painting, Knight and Loftus, was released into Britain's cinemas on 10 May 1943; Loftus found herself in the public eye and quickly famous from the coverage, although shop stewards from Woolwich Arsenal, disbelieving the stories of Loftus's prowess in the task, travelled to Newport to check on her skills. They returned satisfied.Ruby Loftus was shown at the 1947 Engineering and Marine Exhibition at the Olympia Exhibition Centre. The picture was also reproduced in a large-scale poster version by the WAAC; it was displayed in factories across the country. It became one of the most well-known and popular works commissioned by the WAAC.The picture shows a woman doing what was traditionally a man's job, and, according to Grimes, Collins and Baddeley, helped to popularise a "new, active image of femininity". In this respect it has been likened to the American figure of "Rosie the Riveter"; Norman Rockwell's picture of Rosie appeared on 29 May 1943—a month after Ruby Loftus was first exhibited. According to Foss, "despite the similarity in their two names ... these two wartime icons could hardly be more different.
Rosie the Riveter newsreel Royal Academy Summer Exhibition The Yorkshire Post Norman Rockwell The Times Woolwich Arsenal Olympia Exhibition Centre shop steward