# Moses Harris artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/moses-harris/
Profile generated: 2026-08-24T19:43:22.152Z
Quality: medium confidence, adequate sources

## Artist identity

- Nationality: British
- Common media: Engraving, Copper engraving

## Portrait

![Moses Harris](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/MosesHarris.jpg)
Moses Harris ( Loske, Alexandra: "Rare copy of Moses Harris’s Natural System of Colours on display at the Royal Pavilion" , p. 116 ) · Public domain
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MosesHarris.jpg

## About Moses Harris

Moses Harris (1731–1785) is identified in the collected authority and reference sources as a British entomologist and engraver. His work sits at the intersection of scientific observation, printmaking, and eighteenth-century investigations of colour. A reference source associates Harris with The Natural System of Colours, a publication that considered the relationships among primary colours and the results of mixing them. This combination of scientific and graphic interests helps explain why collectors may encounter his name in connection with engravings, illustrated publications, colour studies, and bibliographic material rather than within a single conventional fine-art movement. The available public identity records consistently distinguish Harris as both an entomologist and an engraver, although the collected excerpts do not provide a complete chronology or catalogue of his output. Objects attributed to him therefore benefit from precise identification of the image, publication, format, and documentary connection to his recognized work.

## Common works and media

The source pack most clearly supports engravings, copper-engraved material, and printed works connected with entomology or colour theory. It also identifies The Natural System of Colours as an associated publication. Because the evidence does not provide a complete oeuvre or edition history, these categories should guide research rather than be treated as an authentication checklist.

## Market and appraisal context

Auction and appraisal research for Moses Harris should begin with the exact identity of the object: an engraving, an illustrated publication, or material connected with The Natural System of Colours. The collected sources establish his occupations and the title of that associated publication, but they do not supply a catalogue of accepted impressions or a detailed auction-house market survey. Comparisons should therefore be limited to genuinely similar records and should consider the recorded title, format, lot description, sale date, and realized price where available. A name-level auction result alone is insufficient to establish authorship or value, particularly when the relationship between a loose print and its original publication has not been documented.

## 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. Source limitations and unresolved identity questions are retained rather than replaced with unsupported conclusions.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q720166
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500002318
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/39718627/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n89667879
- British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG30704
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_Harris
- Wikipedia: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_Harris
- Wikipedia: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_Harris
- Appraisily: https://appraisily.com/artist/moses-harris/