Christian Vlasto, A Canal-Boat Woman, 1944 (oil on canvas)

Creator: Hailstone, Bernard (1910-87) A portrait of Christian C Vlasto, an Inland Waterway woman, seated, with her hands on her hips and wearing a Grand Union Canal Company jacket, Britain, 1944. A barge can be seen in the background. Inland Waterway women were known as 'Idle Women'. This is perhaps a derogatory name, but one which was jokingly taken from the 'IW' initials of Inland Waterways printed on the name badges. Bernard Hailstone was a British official war artist who trained at the Royal Academy school. In the Second World War he was commissioned by the War Artists Advisory Committee to document the Blitz, the Hull docks, the Merchant Navy, Algiers, Malta and Italy. He served in the Auxiliary Fire Service.