# Frederick Simpson Coburn artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/frederick-simpson-coburn/
Profile generated: 2026-05-30T05:17:22.667Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1871-03-18
- Death date: 1960-05-25
- Nationality: Canadian
- Common media: oil painting, drawing

## About Frederick Simpson Coburn

Frederick Simpson Coburn (1871–1960) was a Canadian painter, illustrator, draftsman, and photographer associated with the Eastern Townships of Quebec. Born and later deceased in Upper Melbourne, Quebec, Coburn developed a practice grounded in landscape and animal subjects that resonated with both Canadian and international audiences. He also spent formative time in Belgium, where the RKD records activity in Mol, Antwerp. Known by the initials F. S. Coburn, he held a Doctor of Civil Law and built a reputation as a versatile artist whose output extended beyond easel painting into illustration and photographic work. His paintings of rural Canadian life — particularly scenes featuring animals and the Quebec countryside — remain the works most frequently encountered by collectors and at auction. Coburn's dual identity as both a fine artist and a working illustrator gives his oeuvre unusual breadth across media and subject matter.

## Common works and media

Coburn most commonly produced oil paintings of landscapes and animal subjects, especially scenes of rural Quebec life. He also created drawings, illustrations for publication, and photographic works. Works on paper — including preparatory sketches and illustrations — surface at auction less frequently than his canvases but are part of his documented practice.

## Market and appraisal context

Coburn's works appear regularly at Canadian art auctions, with over two hundred lots documented in the Appraisily database. Landscape paintings and animal subjects dominate his auction record. Collectors should consider medium (oil on canvas versus works on paper), subject matter, provenance, condition, and whether a work dates from his Canadian or Belgian period. Illustrations and photographic works are less common at auction and may require specialist attribution. Specific price guidance requires reviewing comparable public auction results, which are not included in the current source pack.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from museum, library-authority, and scholarly sources with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18508210
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._S._Coburn
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500070743
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/72229958/
- RKD — Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/17374