Overworked
1903
Frank Arthur Nankivell, a star illustrator for the famous Puck magazine, captures a hilarious moment of Gilded Age satire in this 1903 piece. A wealthy, imposing woman in a voluminous blue gown and giant hat sits slumped in a chair, looking utterly drained while holding a lorgnette and fan—the very picture of someone 'overworked' by the exhausting task of doing absolutely nothing. Beside her, a scrawny, nervous artist gestures hopefully toward his easel, presenting a tiny landscape painting of cows that seems completely at odds with her grand, demanding presence. This piece perfectly mocks the idle rich of the Edwardian era, using the decorative flair of the Art Nouveau period to frame a sharp social joke about class and labor.