Edward Charles Pickering (director of the Harvard Observatory from 1877 to 1919) employed women to process astronomical data. The majority of these women are remembered not individually, but collectively by the moniker Pickering’s Harem; a derogatory nickname that reflects attitudes in a time when women working outside the home was almost unheard of. According to “Smithsonian Magazine,” at the turn of the 20th century, science even warned against women and education. This did not stop some members of Pickering’s team from earning degrees in Astronomy. These women usually earned between 25 and 50 cents per hour, more than a factory worker, less than a clerical employee.

This set of drawings is directly inspired by the work of these women, and their contribution to advances in science many of which are still in use today.