Gabrielle Hope was born in Lower Hutt, she attended Auckland's Diocesan School for Girls and studied at Elam School of Fine arts. The mother of two children, she lived in Whitford, Waiheke Island and in 1950 purchased a home in Tohunga Crescent, Parnell.

Whilst living in Parnell, Gabrielle's wide circle of friends including fellow artists Helen Brown, Jan Nigro, Louise Henderson, Robert Nettleton Field, Eric Lee Johnson and Lincoln Lee. In 1953 she remarried and the family moved to Milford.

Her subject matter extensively encompasses still lifes, landscapes, figures, animals and portraits. The influence of Picasso, and an admiration of Frances Hodgkins is reflected in Hope's work. Hope's primary media were watercolour and gouache, which she enjoyed because of their ability to layer colour with spontaneity and without the time constraints of oil paints. From 1946 she exhibited with the Auckland and Hamilton Society of Arts and the Auckland City Art Gallery in 1955/56.

By 1954, Hope was using techniques from Chinese painting books, and her style became more bold, gestural and avant-garde. Ross Fraser, who met Gabrielle in 1955 and knew her until her death, described her work as "sympathetic interest in individuals, in the human condition, and in the miraculous and inexhaustible morphology of the animal world".

Her work was displayed at a solo gallery exhibition at Peter Webb's gallery in 1957.

A retrospective exhibition of her work was held at the Gus Fisher Gallery in 2008 titled, Gabrielle Hope 1916 - 1962: Lyric Watercolours.