Women of Science : Working Women of CMNH's Botany HallMain MenuIntroductionBotany Hall HistoryWomen Behind Botany HallThe Funders Behind Botany HallFinal Reflections on Botany HallLeslie Rose6813b66ecfb248a8c2aca17698a42e521a9e09c1
12016-10-28T10:21:43-07:00Women Behind Botany Hall16gallery2016-12-14T08:35:56-08:00 There were hundreds of women that worked behind the scenes for Botany Hall, both museum staff and volunteers. Three women in particular, Dorothy E.L. Pearth, Hanne von Fuehrer, and Elizabeth Niedringhaus, played an important role within the museum. Through each woman’s work and experiences, this investigation into women’s relationship with the museum and botany. In their own way, each woman has pioneered through the challenges of working in the Natural History Museum, a typically male-dominated sphere. Their efforts in botanical scholarship and craftsmanship helped make working in the museum more accessible to women.
1media/Members of the (Pittsburgh Garden Center).jpg2016-11-05T14:19:46-07:00Women of Science10Working Women Inside CMNH's Botany Hallgallery2016-11-19T08:03:15-08:00
1media/pearth.jpg2016-11-05T13:34:39-07:00Dorothy E.L. Pearth, Associate Curator of Botany7visradial2016-11-19T09:24:08-08:00Dorothy Evelyn Long Pearth grew up in Coles Summit of central Pennsylvania. In her adolescence, Pearth was described as artistic, musical, and detail oriented. She attended Felix Mahoney School of Fine and Applied Arts in Washington D.C. and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Science in Botany. During this period, Pearth also studied art at night at Carnegie Mellon University.
Dorothy Pearth began at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History during the 1940s working under Dr. Maurice Graham Netting, director of the museum. A few years later, Pearth transferred to the Botany Section as Associate Curator of Botany until her retirement in 1978.