# Laura Coombs Hills artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/laura-coombs-hills/
Profile generated: 2026-08-24T19:10:13.791Z
Quality: medium confidence, adequate sources

## Artist identity

- Nationality: American
- Common media: Pastel, Watercolor, Miniature painting on ivory, Book illustration and design

## Portrait

![Laura Coombs Hills](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Laura-Coombs-Hills-ca1899_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Marshall, Boston · Public domain
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Laura-Coombs-Hills-ca1899_(cropped).jpg

## About Laura Coombs Hills

Laura Coombs Hills (1859–1952) was an American painter, illustrator, designer, and specialist in miniature painting. She is best known for flower still lifes executed in pastel and watercolor, along with miniature portraits painted on ivory. Hills also produced designs and illustrations for children's books, creating several distinct bodies of work that collectors may encounter. Reference accounts identify her as the first miniature painter elected to the Society of American Artists and as a founder of the American Society of Miniature Painters. In auction and appraisal settings, her name may therefore appear on small portrait miniatures, floral works on paper, or illustration-related material rather than within one uniform category. Correct identification requires attention to medium, scale, subject, inscriptions, and the distinction between an original illustration and reproduced book imagery. Public authority records connect these varied practices under a consistent artist identity, although the collected source pack does not establish a formal movement classification from a museum or scholarly biography.

## Common works and media

Collectors may encounter Hills's floral still lifes in pastel or watercolor, often as works on paper, as well as miniature portrait paintings on ivory. Her activity as an illustrator and designer also means that original illustration material, published book imagery, and later reproductions require careful separation. Medium, dimensions, support, inscriptions, and publication context can help distinguish an original work from a printed image. The collected evidence does not establish named series, edition sizes, or a documented body of sculpture, ceramics, or conventional editioned prints.

## Market and appraisal context

The first market question for a work attributed to Laura Coombs Hills is its category: pastel or watercolor floral still life, miniature portrait on ivory, or illustration and design material. These work types should be evaluated separately. An appraisal should document the medium, support, dimensions, subject, signature or inscriptions, condition, provenance, and any evidence of date or publication history. The collected input identifies 188 Appraisily records, but it provides no lot-level descriptions, sale dates, or realized prices. It therefore does not support a typical value, price trend, or category premium. Useful comparable sales should match the same work type, medium, subject, scale, condition, attribution, and relevant sale period as closely as the available public records permit.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine public artist-identity research with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Laura Coombs Hills, the present source pack supports identity and work-type context but not lot-level pricing conclusions.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19792224
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500019684
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/71294873/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr97008566
- ISNI: https://isni.org/isni/0000000067084764
- RKD: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/86971
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Coombs_Hills
- Wikipedia: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Coombs_Hills
- Wikipedia: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Coombs_Hills
- Appraisily: https://appraisily.com/artist/laura-coombs-hills/