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In a lighthearted way, Walter Beach Humphrey often pokes fun at women in his paintings of them. In Dirty Dishes, the artist illustrates a deflated woman looking sadly at a large pile of dirty dishes—one of the domestic chores that was traditionally filed under “women’s work” during this time.
Still donning in her red party dress, this moment seems to take place soon after the celebration’s last guest has departed. Humphrey’s repetitive use of red in various places throughout the image is effective in disguising the limited printing capabilities of the early 20th century; his imagery distracts from the otherwise obvious the fact that there are only two colors used in the cover: shades of red and black!
