$47,000
Laura Coombs Hills (American, 1859-1952) Helen Harlow Signed "Laura Hills" u. r., identified on a period label inscribed "Exhibition by American Society of Miniature Painters at the Corcoran Gallery" on the reverse. Watercolor on ivory, 7 3/4 x 4 1/2 in. (19.7 x 11.4 cm), framed. Condition: Not examined out of frame. Provenance: A private New England collection. N.B. Laura Coombs Hills, from Newburyport Massachusetts, was first and best known for her portrait miniatures. It was in England in 1892 that she first experimented with miniature portraits painted on ivory. When she returned to Boston, her portraits were met with great acclaim, and the demand for them was very high. Producing approximately 400 miniatures in the first decades of the 20th century, Hills was a founding member and vice president of the American Society of Miniature Painters. She was awarded a Gold Medal for her miniatures at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904, and in 1916 she earned the first Medal of Honor ever given by the Pennsylvania Society of Miniature Painters. She was a central figure in the revival of miniature portraits, which had lost popularity to photographs.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2007-09-07
