Next Big Thing: Hannah Murray

Artist standing in studio with paintings of women in elegant poses displayed on the walls and easel.
Hannah Murray with her works (clockwise from bottom left): Coquin (2020), Hearts of Gold (2021), and Rohini (2021). Photo: Courtesy of the artist

A recent graduate of the New York Academy of Art with a new studio on the Lower East Side, Hannah Murray produces compositions that feature women relishing their beauty and power coupled with an uncanny hint of discomfort. Drawing on a painterly reserve, Murray uses the sensuality of velvety fabric and alluring interiors to create intimate narratives of female ascent. 

Two people dancing; one wears a sparkly red dress, the other wears a white shirt and black trousers, with a colorful backdrop.
Hannah Murray, The Dance, (2021). Photo: Courtesy of the artist

Influences: A self-described London museum geek, Murray grew up visiting the National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery, “staring at paintings of women in beautiful clothes and beautiful settings all day long.” 

Person in pajamas seated on a checkered floor with a relaxed dog nearby and another person in the background adjusting something.
Hannah Murray, I Have a Feeling We’re Not in Kansas Anymore, (2022). Photo: Courtesy of the artist

“Hannah’s sitters face us quietly but defiantly, challenging us to explore the many mysteries that lay hidden beneath a human likeness”

Eileen Guggenheim

Subject matter: “The women in my work are good friends, family, or artists I’ve studied with and admire; they’re all pretty amazing. I’m not trying to portray their lives, even though I do use real partners and couples. I’m putting my own
thoughts onto them.”

A woman with red hair sits in a pink chair holding cards, with a table displaying an orange and a drink nearby.
Hannah Murray, The Dealer, (2022). Photo: Courtesy of the artist

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2022 Winter Issue under the headline “Next Big Things.” Subscribe to the magazine.

Click here to see the full list of “Next Big Things.”