The iconic Rosie the Riveter poster girl who became a symbol of feminist power for the millions of hard working women who worked on the home front during World War II has died . Mary Doyle Keefe , the telephone operator who inspired millions , passed away on Tuesday after a brief illness , her family said . Mary became the poster girl for American women when she shot to fame by posing for Norman Rockwell 's iconic painting . Iconic : Mary Doyle Keefe , who posed for the Normal Rockwell Rosie the Riveter painting as a 19-year-old telephone operator , has died in Simsbury , Conneticut , aged 92 . Rosie the Riveter was on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post on May 29 , 1943 , and became a symbol for feminism and economic power for American female workers during the war . Rockwell 's famous painting shows the red-haired Rosie dressed in blue work overalls sat on the stars and stripes , with a sandwich in her left hand and her right arm on top of her lunch box with the name 'Rosie ' on the front . In her no-nonsense pose , Rosie shows her brute strength with her left forearm muscle bulging . She has a rivet gun resting in her lap and her feet on a copy of Adolf Hitler 's manifesto 'Mein Kampf . ' Although Mrs Keefe was petite , Rockwell wanted 'Rosie ' to show strength , so he used artistic licence to make her arms , hands and shoulders bigger . Riveting : The painting shows Rosie in blue work overalls sitting down in front of the American flag , with a sandwich in her left hand , a rivet gun on her lap and her feet resting on a copy of Adolf Hitler 's 'Mein Kampf ' Same but different : Rockwell 's painting is not to be confused with the equally iconic 'We Can Do It ! ' poster , often also referred to as Rosie The Riveter . The artists admitted he modelled her body on Michelangelo 's Isaiah , which is on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel . Mrs Keefe , who was n't actually a riveter , was paid $ 10 ( equivalent to $ 136 today ) for two sessions she posed for Rockwell and his photographer , Gene Pelham . In a 2002 interview by then retired Mrs Keefe said the artist told her : 'You sit there and he takes all these pictures . 'They called me again to come back because he wanted me in a blue shirt and asked if I could wear penny loafers . ' Twenty-four years after she posed , Rockwell sent her a letter calling her the most beautiful woman he 'd ever seen and apologizing for the hefty body in the painting . ' I did have to make you into a sort of a giant , ' he wrote . Mrs Keefe said people in Arlington did n't make too much of a fuss about her being in the Rosie painting , aside from teasing her a little about Rosie 's big arms . 'People did n't make a big deal about things back then , ' she said . Rockwell 's painting is not to be confused with the equally iconic 'We Can Do It ! ' , wartime poster , often also referred to as Rosie The Riveter . Inspirational : The 'We Can Do It ' poster has been copied across the world to represent feminism and gender equality , including by singer Beyonce . After selling for $ 5million at a Sothenby 's auction in 2002 , the original Rosie the Riveter is now part of the permanent collection at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville , Arkansas . After the war , Mrs Keefe graduated from Temple University with a degree in dental hygiene , and was working as a dental hygienist in Bennington , Vermont , when she met her husband of 55 years , Robert Keefe , who died in 2003 . They had four children and lived in Whitman , Massachusetts , and later in Nashua , New Hampshire . Mrs Keefe spent the last eight years in a retirement community in Simsbury , according to an obituary prepared by her family .
Mary Doyle Keefe died in Simsbury , Connecticut , aged 92 . She was 'Rosie the Riveter ' the wartime poster girl who inspired millions . Artist made petite Mary 's muscles bigger to make her symbol of strength . Became a symbol for feminism for the wartime women who stayed home .