The Reading Woman: Leisure Boxed Notecard Assortment

The reading woman has been a popular subject for painters through the ages. She is, in herself, an expression of important, unspoken cultural ideas. She is at leisure, and that she is using her leisure to read indicates that she is educated—no small feat in centuries past. The women portrayed in this notecard assortment share their love of reading with children, creating another generation of readers. Just as the reading woman sets free her imagination and becomes absorbed in the written words before her, so can we briefly enter the world depicted in each painting and take part in its narrative. Contains 5 each of the following images: Albert Bartholomé (French, 1848–1928), The Artist’s Wife Reading, 1883 Mary Cassatt (American, 1844–1926), Nurse Reading to a Little Girl, 1895 James Jebusa Shannon (American, 1862–1923), Jungle Tales (Contes de la Jungle), 1895 Louis Comfort Tiffany (American, 1848–1933), Louise Tiffany, Reading, 1888