Harvey was inspired to create Wash Woman after watching one of her pregnant daughters struggle to manage her household. A visible burden bends the woman forward over her swollen abdomen, the contours of which were fully formed in the wood when Harvey discovered it. The work demonstrates the artist's unique ability to envision figures in branches of wood, give them sculptural form and endow them with a pronounced individuality.

She is a black queen Although her beauty is seldom seen It's hidden by head rags And fat sags of weight And her hair is not straight Nor her waist is not pretty Her skin is not thin But she carries her beauty from within. Her clothes are not pretty Her skin to me is dark Working in white kitchens She leaves her mark She cleans their house spotless And feeds their white mouths She takes care of their babies Because their mothers don't know how. Amanda Downs