Mary Doyle Keefe, who was model for 1943 ‘Rosie the Riveter’ painting of Norman Rockwell, died on Tuesday in Simsbury. ‘Rosie the Riveter’ painting symbolized the American women who had gone to work on the home front during World War II. According to reports, Keefe died at the age of 92 after a brief illness.

On Tuesday, she Keefe died peacefully in Simsbury, Connecticut. According to the Carmon Community Funeral Homes obituary, Keefe lived last eight years of her life at the McLean Village Community. Keefe’s death was confirmed by her daughter on Wednesday.

Keefe grew up in Arlington, where she met Norman Rockwell, who was a 20th-century American painter and illustrator. There, she posed for Rockwell’s painting. At that time, she was 19-year-old and working as a telephone operator. The painting by Rockwell was on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post in May 1943.

According to the reports, Keefe was petite, but Rosie the Riveter in Rockwell's painting had large arms, shoulders and hands. The painter wanted Rosie to demonstrate strength. He modeled her body on Michelangelo's Isaiah, which is on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

In a statement on Wednesday night, the Norman Rockwell Museum said that it was saddened to hear the passing of Mary Doyle Keefe. The museum also sent condolences to her family. The museum said, “Keefe was a neighbor of Rockwell's when the two lived in Arlington, Vermont. He called Keefe, then a 19-year-old telephone operator, to pose for the picture that appeared on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post in May 1943”.

As per the repots, Keefe was never a riveter herself. Keefe was paid just $5 for each of two mornings she posed for Rockwell and his photographer.