Self Portrait as Coco

Object Details

Artist

Katharine Hepburn, 12 May 1907 - 29 Jun 2003

Sitter

Katharine Hepburn, 12 May 1907 - 29 Jun 2003

Exhibition Label

In addition to being one of America’s most beloved and successful actresses (the recipient of four Academy Awards), Katharine Hepburn was also a dedicated amateur artist. Her many paintings, drawings, and sculptures include unsparing portraits of herself, such as this caricature as Coco Chanel in Hepburn’s first and only Broadway musical, Coco. Having achieved iconic status in the 1930s and 1940s by playing strong, independent-minded women in mainstream Hollywood films, Hepburn was eager to embrace new challenges late in her career, believing “It’s better to try something difficult and flop than to play it safe all the time.” In her sixth and seventh decades, she achieved some of her finest performances in wide-ranging productions that included the twelfth-century historical saga The Lion in Winter (1968), the Edwardian romantic comedy Love among the Ruins (1975), and the contemporary family drama On Golden Pond (1981).

Además de ser una de las actrices más queridas y exitosas de Estados Unidos (ganadora de cuatro Oscars), Katharine Hepburn fue una entusiasta artista aficionada. Entre su gran cantidad de pinturas, dibujos y esculturas hay autorretratos nada indulgentes, como esta caricatura vestida de Coco Chanel a propósito de su primer y único musical en Broadway, Coco. Habiendo alcanzado estatus de leyenda en las décadas de 1930 y 1940 con papeles de mujeres fuertes e independientes en películas de Hollywood, Hepburn llegó a su madurez deseosa de nuevos retos, pensando que era “mejor intentar algo difícil aunque fracasara, en vez de ir siempre a lo seguro”. Ya entrada en sus sesenta y setenta años logró varias de sus mejores actuaciones en una amplia gama de producciones, entre ellas la histórica saga del siglo XII The Lion in Winter (1968), la comedia romántica eduardiana Love among the Ruins (1975) y el drama familiar contemporáneo On Golden Pond (1981).

Credit Line

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Trustees of Katharine Hepburn U/W Art 9th

c. 1969

Object number

NPG.2015.97

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Copyright

© Trustees of Katharine Hepburn U/W Art 9th

Type

Drawing

Medium

Pencil on paper

Dimensions

Image: 21 × 20.4 cm (8 1/4 × 8 1/16")

Sheet: 25 × 20.4 cm (9 13/16 × 8 1/16")

See more items in

National Portrait Gallery Collection

National Portrait Gallery

Topic

Costume\Headgear\Hat

Costume\Dress Accessory\Eyeglasses

Caricature

Self-portrait

Katharine Hepburn: Female

Katharine Hepburn: Literature\Writer

Katharine Hepburn: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor\Movie

Katharine Hepburn: Oscar

Portrait

Record ID

npg_NPG.2015.97

Metadata Usage (text)

Usage conditions apply

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4a01fb35f-5a17-48e8-be29-b8e82ed05f7e