A palpably stubborn nature unites Huddleston’s women. Looking at one of her subjects’ stern faces, one might believe that she is possessed of an “attitude” associated with ill manners in one of lesser breeding. The paintings’ formal framing doesn’t lift the mood. Under Huddleston’s brush, a monochrome background of one canvas has as much nerve as the marble and French topiary in another.

These women come from disparate stories. One is an aristo housewife, another a mountain explorer, while one strayed into the 21st century from a troupe of Tudor lute players. Their copycat features, however, suggest that they are each the painter’s alter ego. It is, therefore, poignant that as one loses her focus in laughter, an image of stern determination shows up in the frame nearby.