One of Audrey Hepburn’s grandchildren is celebrating a major achievement in the art world. Emma Kathleen Hepburn Ferrer, 30, has her first solo exhibition, “The Scapegoat,” at Sapar Contemporary art gallery in New York. The artist, who is the daughter of Audrey Hepburn’s son Sean Hepburn Ferrer, has shared several photos of her artwork on Instagram. While talking about her background and the inspiration behind her work, she has opened up about her grandmother’s legacy.
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“I can’t say what it means to me to be having a solo exhibition of my own artwork in New York,” Emma wrote on Instagram on January 5. “I started working at this gallery as an intern almost 10 years ago.” She added that “these works are the fruits of the last 2 years for me; a time in which, after repatriating myself in Italy, I found the space, physical and metaphorical, to return to my self.”
Given that Audrey Hepburn also liked to draw, many have noticed that artistic talent seems to run in the family. “She was really good at drawing,” Emma told Vogue. “My dad put together an exhibition, ‘Intimate Audrey,’ which features some of her sketches and toured a little bit in Europe — now it’s going to be in China for a while.”
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Describing her grandmother as “so talented” when speaking to ¡Hola!, Emma added that her father’s exhibition features “several really beautiful hand-drawn pieces [Audrey] made when she was younger.”
She told the publication that she’s “still discovering what it means to be her granddaughter, and what she meant to others — what she really signified.” Emma never met her grandmother, as she died about a year before Emma was born. However, Emma has had the opportunity to learn more about her late grandmother “through the people who love and admire her.”
“That’s how I get to know her: through the love that others have for her,” Emma told ¡Hola!. “It’s incredible to see how that admiration spans the globe — from the United States to Spain, China, the Philippines … She’s loved everywhere. It’s amazing.”
Audrey Hepburn was also well-known for philanthropic work. Emma told Vogue that in this way, she’d like to follow in her grandmother’s footsteps and “contribute to philanthropic efforts.” During another interview, she mentioned another characteristic of her grandmother’s that she holds closely: empathy.
“She was an artist who took her craft seriously, and there is a creative current that runs between us,” Emma told Avenue Magazine, adding, “She had this incredible feeling for empathy — I see it in my dad, as well. She devoted her later years to helping others, she literally gave her life to it. That feeling is what my painting is about.”
