Emma Hapner received her Master of Fine Arts with a concentration in painting from New York Academy of Art. She is originally from Indiana, and received her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from Ball State University. She works primarily in oil paint on canvas to create figurative works from a female perspective.

She is reassessing classical painting through the lens of the contemporary female experience, focusing on the complexity of these women and self-expression through materialism. Her paintings focus on women and their experiences, while appreciating beauty and femininity, from the viewpoint of a woman. She wants to explore the relationship between portraits of women and the viewer, and break away from the voyeuristic idealism that has been used to depict women throughout history. By making images of women, She wants to show the viewer their complex identities, feelings, and experiences.