This exhibition of vintage photographs and rare silent film footage brings to life the extraordinary work undertaken between 1917 and 1924 by 350 American women—all volunteers—who left comfortable lives in the United States to devote themselves to humanitarian action in France after World War I. ... Read more
This exhibition of vintage photographs and rare silent film footage brings to life the extraordinary work undertaken between 1917 and 1924 by 350 American women—all volunteers—who left comfortable lives in the United States to devote themselves to humanitarian action in France after World War I. Barred from voting or serving in active combat, these women instead directed their considerable energy toward international relief work to counter the devastation of war. The dynamic center of this group was Anne Morgan, daughter of the prominent financier Pierpont Morgan, who collected private funds and founded the American Committee for Devastated France. In the tradition of Clara Barton and Florence Nightingale, this group of women lived alongside the rural people of Picardy, a region of northern France that had been ravaged during the first World War. At the wheel of their Ford trucks, they directed the reconstruction of buildings and agricultural production; created a network of visiting nurses, libraries, social centers, and kindergartens; encouraged sports and scouting; and organized festive events designed to rebuild social ties. This exhibition illustrates how Anne Morgan and her colleagues cannily employed the media of film and photography to publicize their work and instigate social action.
