Adelaide Hiebel was born in New Hope Wisconsin in 1886. She studied at the Art Institute in Chicago. In 1919 Hiebel was an art instructor when her friend and mentor Zula Kenyon retired from the Gerlach Barklow Company in Joliet Illinois and Adelaide was asked to come to work for them. She signed a contract with Gerlach Barklow and painted calendar prints for them until 1954.

   Adelaide's favorite medium was pastels. Most her early subjects were women, but she also painted women and dogs, mother's with infants, infant portraits and small children in cute situations. Some of her paintings shows extremely photographic detail. Adelaide's work has gained much interest and is one of the better known women illustrators of her time. Adelaide died in the late 1960's while living in California.