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Josephine Muntz Adams

The art and legacy of an Australian pioneer. 1862-1949.
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Outback Australia
Josephine’s fearless spirit took her across the world and into the
‘waste, howling wilderness’ of the West Australian goldfields.
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The female gaze
A quiet gaze, a deeper story – revealing women’s roles in history through art.
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‘Mrs Muntz Adams has every right to a permanent position in Australian painting.’

Clive Turnbull, The Herald (1943)1

Signature collection

A selection of Josephine’s finest and most celebrated work, showcasing her exceptional skill in portraiture and landscapes.

Mrs Montgomery, by Josephine Muntz Adams.

Mrs Montgomery

This portrait shows Josephine’s impressionistic flair, with confident brushwork and colour giving it a vitality beyond her earlier formal portraits.

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Josephine's story

Josephine Muntz Adams’ life and career spanned continents, artistic movements and significant milestones in Australian art history.

From her early training in Melbourne to studying in Paris and England, she built a reputation as a distinguished portraitist and teacher.

She was the first Australian artist to have a work purchased for the Queensland Art Gallery and contributed to the art scenes in both Melbourne and Brisbane.

Life and legacy

This timeline traces her journey – her studies, exhibitions and achievements – highlighting a legacy that continues to be recognised in public collections and exhibitions today.

‘Josephine Muntz Adams is among the most adventurous and expressive portraitists of her generation.’

Juliet Peers, Art historian, curator, artist and writer (1992)2

Stories behind artwork

Blog: From palette to portrait

Take a deeper dive into the stories behind some of Josephine Muntz Adams’ artworks and life.

Reclining Nude, by Josephine Muntz-Adams
The ‘Female Gaze’ brings three Australian artists into focus
July 11, 2026
Anita Selzer’s third Female Gaze book highlights three pioneering Australian women artists – including Josephine Muntz Adams – who reshaped the nation’s art legacy. Women artists have always played a…
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She paints like a man: the highest praise the art world could offer
March 20, 2026
In the late 19th century, calling a woman's work 'masculine' was the highest praise the art world could offer. It tells you everything about the world in which Josephine Muntz…
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Italian Girl's Head, by Josephine Muntz-Adams.
From rejection to renown: ‘not up to gallery standard’ or worthy of a national collection?
March 18, 2026
Today, Josephine Muntz Adams is represented in various galleries across Australia. But this wasn’t always the case. Her correspondence with the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) reveals a stark shift…
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‘The paintings of Mrs J. M. Muntz Adams are the negation of cynicism and of everything meretricious or ugly.’

Sir Keith Murdoch, Founder of the Murdoch media empire
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