Adele Mary Younghusband was born in Hamilton in the North Island of New Zealand in 1878. From 1913 she was a member of the Auckland Society of Arts and in 1919 set up a photography business. In 1937 she exhibited in Sydney and studied under George Bell in Melbourne where she developed her interest in abstract and surrealist ideas. As a painter, Adele Younghusband experimented with colour and design and she was one of the few New Zealand artists to portray a working situation. An exhibition of her work in 1941 attracted a record gathering for an artist at that time. She exhibited with the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts from 1929 to 1957 and her work is represented in the Waikato and Auckland Public Gallery collections as well as the Northland Council which not only has paintings, but also an extensive collection of her photography.
The earliest auction listing we have for Adele Younghusband is in 1978 and in total 175 works by the artist have been offered for sale, of which 124 (71%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $209,635 for Spring Cleaning sold by Webb's in November 2022. No works have been offered for sale this year, and the last sale we have recorded for the artist was in 2023. Works by Adele Younghusband are held by the Museum Of New Zealand, Auckland Art Gallery and a further two major public national galleries (see list below).
Adele Mary Younghusband is listed in the following standard biographical references:
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