Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the US Presidential election race thrust his vice president Kamala Harris into the spotlight—and it also put Harris’s stepdaughter, artist Ella Emhoff, centre stage. Emhoff, the daughter of Doug Emhoff (Kamala’s husband), showcases her striking knit paintings on her popular Instagram account (332,000 followers), where she also plugs the Soft Hands Knit Club, which brings together budding knitters and crochet devotees at various New York hot spots. Earlier this year Ella showed a collection of her knit portraits at The Mezz, a gallery space inside East Village cannabis store in New York. According to Nylon magazine, at the opening “everyone looked hip and important, like artists or influencers you’ve seen somewhere but don’t quite recognise by name”.
She seems to be taking the media attention in her stride, posting a Reel from her studio last Sunday—the day of Biden’s announcement—with the caption: “Some chill organising before my Sunday turned extremely not chill. Thank you for all the messages.” As Thrillist magazine points out: “In nearly three months’ time, we will find out if we are indeed living in Kamala Harris’s America… Harris would be providing our nation with the trendiest First Daughter to ever hit the frontlines.”
