Lunch Break
Date1942
Artist
S.B. Valentine
Illustration CitationCover for Collier's August 1, 1942
MediumWatercolor on board
Dimensions21 1/4 × 19 5/8 in. (54 × 49.8 cm)
frame: 30 5/8 × 28 7/8 × 1 in. (77.8 × 73.3 × 2.5 cm)
frame: 30 5/8 × 28 7/8 × 1 in. (77.8 × 73.3 × 2.5 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mary and Carmine Torardi, 2025
Object number2025-2
On View
Not on viewClassificationsDRAWING
Label TextThis image appeared on the cover of the popular magazine Collier's just after the U.S. entry into World War II. The woman, pictured on her lunch break, is employed at a military airplane factory—indicated by the Air Force insignia behind her. While the young woman in pictured in jeans and working in a factory, the magazine is titled "Fashions of Today," reassuring readers of her traditional femininity.In the weeks between the image being made and magazine being released, the Air Force changed the insignia, removing the red circle to avoid confusion with Japanese forces. The magazine's publishers masked the red in printing, so the cover design reflected the accurate insignia.
