Zoe Hawk, Artist: Unsettling Girlhood Scenes

Zoe Hawk's painted self-portrait: the artist barefoot on a folding chair in a full floral skirt, chin on her hands, against a pale green ground — Zoe Hawk, self-portrait in oil. Courtesy the artist. Cropped and framed by CoolCuration.

Last updated: 28 October 2026

Zoe Hawk is the American artist who paints sweet-looking, slightly unsettling scenes of girlhood in the style of old storybook illustrations. Here you will find our take on her work, where Zoe Hawk has shown recently, the Zoe Hawk prints you can buy, and her small oil in this year’s War Child auction.

Our take on Zoe Hawk

Hawk paints girls on the edge of growing up: schoolgirls, girl scouts, candy stripers. The scenes look charming, but something is usually a little off. “My paintings depict scenes of girlhood; they are detailed, colorful, and the imagery often references children’s storybook illustrations,” she told LVL3 in 2019. As she put it elsewhere, she wants the viewer “to be slightly unnerved”, quoted by Hi-Fructose.

Her War Child piece, Storms Ahead, is oil on panel. A girl with long auburn hair sits on a grey-green floor, leaning back on one hand. She wears a white short-sleeved blouse, a yellow skirt, white knee socks and black-and-white saddle shoes. Meanwhile, she holds a big black umbrella open behind her and looks up, as if waiting for rain that has not arrived. It is neat, bright and faintly anxious, which is exactly her territory.

She is better known in the US than here, although she showed in London at Rhodes Contemporary in 2025. Her work is in the collections of Qatar Museums and the 21c Museum in Louisville. In addition, she sells signed giclée prints from her own shop. Even so, an original panel like this one, starting at £100, is a rarer chance to own a painting by her.

Zoe Hawk: the essentials

Born in St Louis, Missouri, in 1982, the daughter of an artist and painting professor; now based in Columbia, Missouri, according to LVL3 and her own site.
BFA in Studio Art from Missouri State University (2005) and an MFA in Painting from the University of Iowa (2011).
Lived in Qatar for several years and has held residencies in Ireland, Norway, Belgium and Qatar, and at the Women’s Studio Workshop in New York State.
Work in the collections of Qatar Museums, the 21c Museum in Louisville and the Frans Masereel Centrum in Belgium.
Designed pieces for ZARA’s Women in Art collection (2019) and fabric prints for Paul & Joe’s Autumn/Winter 2022 collection.
Shows with Galerie Robertson Arès in Montreal, Antler Gallery in Portland and Visions West Contemporary in Denver.

Where to see Zoe Hawk now

Coming up: Sound & Vision 2026, a War Child charity auction online from 27 October to 12 November 2026, with the works on view at Iconic Images Gallery, London, 6 to 8 November. The piece is Storms Ahead (2026), oil on panel, 21 x 15 cm (8.3 x 5.9 in), lot page.
Left Unsaid (group), Hashimoto Contemporary, New York, 21 June to 26 July 2025.
She Said (solo), Galerie Robertson Arès, Montreal, 3 April to 3 May 2025.
Story Time (group), Rhodes Contemporary, Great Portland Street, London, 7 to 29 March 2025.
Wayward Girls (two-person), Spectrum Fine Art, Seattle, 6 June to 20 July 2024.

How to buy a Zoe Hawk print or painting

Zoe Hawk sells signed prints from her own online shop in the US, priced in dollars. These are the main options:

There’s No Knowing: a giclée print on archival matte paper, image 30.5 x 40.6 cm (12 x 16 in) plus white border, signed and numbered, edition of 25, US$250 (about £187) from the artist’s shop.
Lady of Shalott: a giclée print on archival matte paper, image 45.7 x 61 cm (18 x 24 in) plus white border, signed and numbered, edition of 25, US$400 (about £299) from the artist’s shop.
Who Will Go?: an original oil on panel, 61 x 45.7 cm (24 x 18 in), US$3,400 (about £2,542) from Antler Gallery, Portland.
Storms Ahead, 2026: a small oil on panel in the War Child Sound & Vision auction, bidding from £100 until 12 November 2026 (bid here).

Zoe Hawk FAQs

Where is Zoe Hawk from?

She was born in St Louis, Missouri, in 1982 and now lives and works in Columbia, Missouri.

What does Zoe Hawk paint?

Scenes of girlhood that look like storybook illustrations at first, but turn mysterious or unsettling on a closer look.

Can I buy a Zoe Hawk print?

Yes. Signed giclée prints in editions of 25 start at US$200 on her own website, and they ship from the US.

Where can I see Zoe Hawk’s work in London?

Her War Child piece, Storms Ahead, is on view at Iconic Images Gallery from 6 to 8 November 2026.

Zoe Hawk