An 88-year-old woman from Yorkshire, who had never created art before, has become an unlikely viral sensation and secured four exhibition deals after taking up drawing just six months ago. Christine Hazell, who lives with progressive memory loss, began sketching portraits of her family from old photographs as a suggested pastime.
From Family Pastime to Art World Acclaim
The project was initiated in May by her daughter, Gaby Higgs, an architect. She encouraged her mother to use old coloured pencils and pads to copy family photos, featuring her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and the family dog, Kizzy. What started as a simple activity quickly evolved into a daily artistic practice, with Hazell producing over 200 distinctive drawings in a matter of months.
Gaby began sharing the images with her brother, Matthew Higgs, a respected curator and director of New York's White Columns gallery. Instantly recognising the significance of his mother's untutored, raw style, Matthew started posting the work on his Instagram account, which boasts 65.3k followers.
A Distinctive Style Emerges
Despite her condition, Hazell has developed a unique artistic voice. "She has quickly acquired a distinctive style and an independent view of the world by translating photos into drawings," Matthew observes. He notes her conscious decision-making process, where she chooses what to omit and what to amplify. In a revealing moment, she described her role as spoiling the 'perfection' of a photograph through her drawing, giving her subjects "a different face."
The response online was immediate and profound. Her work attracted praise from high-profile figures in the art world, including Turner Prize-nominated artist Tracey Emin, who commented, "Something so good going on here, and shows it's never too late." Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Jerry Saltz and Tate Britain's director Alex Farquharson have also expressed admiration.
Exhibition Schedule for a Newcomer
This viral attention has translated into a remarkable real-world exhibition schedule for the octogenarian artist. The first show, titled "Different Faces," will open at Partisan, a restaurant and exhibition space in York, on 17 December, running until 1 March. It will feature 24 portraits of subjects from across Yorkshire.
Florencia Clifford, co-owner of Partisan, said, "Christine's art is magical and moving – a freedom of expression without self-consciousness." Further exhibitions are already scheduled: London's Studio Voltaire will host a show in July 2024, followed by an inclusion in the summer 2026 exhibition at East Yorkshire's outsider art gallery, The Blacksmith's Shop. Finally, her work will cross the Atlantic to be displayed at White Columns in New York.
For curator Matthew Higgs, his mother's late-life creative explosion is a powerful validation. "It's amazing that someone's ability to visualise things can accelerate so quickly, when in other aspects of their life things are slowing down," he reflects. Christine Hazell's extraordinary story proves that artistic discovery has no age limit.
