Harold Avins Osborne

(Also fondly known as Harry or Hal)

Commercial artist, watercolour artist, photographer Born in Hinckley, Leicester, England.

Travelled to New Zealand at a very young age with his parents and settled in Onewa Road, Northcote, Auckland. Attended Northcote College 1924 -1927 and Takapuna Grammar School in 1929 Art school followed by Rendell’s department store before opening Devoe Studios, his own sign writing/art/design studio in Customs Street Auckland.

He fell in love with and married Gwendoline Mary Rees in 1943. She held his heart from day one and they had two children: Rees in 1946 and Heather in 1951.

He ended his working life running the Maple furnishings company art and display section and on retirement he continued his paintings, which were purely for love, fun and pleasure and not for profit. In total he painted and sketched hundreds of landscape scenes both from memory or photographs he had done on his numerous travels to the North and South Islands and overseas.

His thirst for knowledge knew no limits. A talented watercolour artist extraordinaire, a giver of that knowledge to others ,that he had acquired and learnt. Harold will leave a huge gap in the lives of many who had met him, he will be loved and remembered forever by his family and those who were close to him.