Painting of the interior view of a munitions factory showing the production of 15-inch shells by women factory workers.
Anna Airy was commissioned to produce four paintings depicting munitions production at a crucial stage in the First World War when the tactical use of heavy artillery had become central to the success of the Allied forces. The success of Scottish heavy industry was built on low investment and cheap labour and Anna Airy gives some indications of this - the handling equipment is basic and the production lines disorganized. Indeed, workers at the Singer factory had held a major strike in 1911, their grievances encapsulated in the slogan: 'An injury to one is an injury to all'. The painting measure how far the war economy had developed and society changed: a household name in domestic consumerism was now producing armaments, and women, who might previously have been employed in domestic settings, are now employed on their factory floor.
