The name of the subject in the image is May Wong. Arlene Gottfried and May Wong had a mutual friend by the name of Eddie. Arlene Gottfried had actually met Eddie while attending college. It is unknown how May Wong knew him. Wong was introduced to Gottfried by Eddie in the early 1970s, after he learned that Wong had been looking into making a portfolio and stated she wanted to model for Gottfried. Eddie Sun’s Friend Ironing was taken in Arlene Gottfried’s apartment, so the whole thing remained very casual. This image was actually taken while Wong was getting ready, and Gottfried decided to have her stand behind the ironing board. An article published in 2015 quotes Gottfried, “... The image was taken in my apartment – no furniture, but great light. She was inbetween getting ready so I just put her behind this very old, wooden ironing board.” This image was a very ‘in the moment’ image. With that being said, this image says a lot even though it wasn’t too. Wong is being displayed as a traditional housewife, and even though she was simply getting ready it really speaks to the time period by what she was wearing.