The present work depicts Tarbellʼs eldest daughter, Josephine (b. 1890), who, along with her mother and sisters, ranked among his favorite models. Critics and scholars have long remarked upon the grace and ease that emanates from Tarbellʼs paintings of his family members, most of which were completed at the artistʼs summer residence in New Castle, New Hampshire.

"My Daughter, Josephine" was one of Tarbellʼs two submissions to The Tenʼs annual exhibition in 1915, suggesting his high regard for the work. Scholars including Susan Strickler have concurred, citing "My Daughter, Josephine" among Tarbellʼs finest canvases:

As women were generally his preferred subjects, Tarbell painted his daughters more frequently than his son. Though he painted them more often in groups, Tarbell produced a group of stunning depictions of each daughter alone.…Among Tarbellʼs most exquisite portraits from his midcareer is My Daughter Josephine, remarkably stark in its composition, yet equally sophisticated in its refined palette and draftsmanship. The simplicity of the composition sharpens the viewerʼs focus on the face and hands of the sitter in what is one of Tarbellʼs most personal and sensitive portraits.*

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* Susan Strickler, “A Life that is Art: Edmund C. Tarbell in New Castle,” in Impressionism Transformed, p. 128.