Saint Peggy Lee

“I got a twenty-dollar gold piece, says there ain't nothing I can't do!” In 1930, artist Grant Wood painted the iconic American Gothic of a rural father with pitchfork and his daughter in front of a white home in rural America. Wood’s painting honors the strength of rural communities. Forty years later, Peggy Lee sang her iconic song, I am Woman. This Diva bridges those two cultural signposts through the pitchfork she stands on and the rural artefacts that comprise her form. The Griswold spindle is a cast iron flue damper which was a part of old wood-burning cook stoves to adjust the air flow so the fire would not burn too hot. The iron she stands on echoes more of Peggy Lee’s lyrics and reflects the range of work still expected of women even if they bring home the bacon. Saint Peggy Lee’s message is as it always has been: I can do it all, but I will make my own choices.