Polly highlights Adeline's gift for painting animals, which can also be glimpsed in the bear head in the rug in Portrait of a Young Girl. Polly was a beloved family pet in the Wigand household. There is some evidence that the gilt mirror in this picture was of special significance to the artist, as it is probably the mirror mentioned in her will along with several other pieces of antique furniture. The picture is something of a visual puzzle. The viewer of the painting is placed in the position where he or she would naturally see his or her reflection, only to be replaced by a female figure (probably the artist) whose features are less distinct and animated than the bird on the table in front of her. A number of the women portrayed in Adeline's pictures from the early decades of the 20th century are infused with subtle tension and obscured features, and despite the bright colors and highly decorative aspects of Polly, the artist makes a subtle analogy between the gilded cage of the bird and the woman caught within the borders of the gilt mirror frame. [http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/9aa/9aa665.htm]