Reading, relaxing, sewing and gazing into the mirror… these are the common activities and states of repose in which many of Josephine Muntz Adams’ female subjects find themselves engaged.
They are quiet, domestic scenes that evoke the lives of upper-class women. For practical reasons, these subjects – often relatives or friends – posed in ways that kept them still and occupied during sittings.
While painted with elegance and sensitivity, these works also carry a darker undertone, particularly when viewed through a contemporary feminist lens.
According to art historian Juliet Peers, activities such as mirror gazing or letter reading emphasise the passivity expected of women in upper-class society, offering a poignant reflection on their constrained roles in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.1
These works are in sharp contrast to the female subjects featured in paintings like Josephine’s Afghan Trader.
