Laura Coombs Hills

Laura Coombs Hills had two careers, and led her field in both. She revived the portrait miniature in America — luminous likenesses on ivory that made her a founder of the American Society of Miniature Painters — and then, in her sixties, became New England’s most celebrated painter of flowers in pastel: larkspur, zinnias, and lilies that sold out annual Boston exhibitions into her nineties.

Revere Auctions provides free auction estimates for Hills’ pastels and miniatures alike — send photographs and our specialists will respond with an honest valuation.

Who Was Laura Coombs Hills?

Hills was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts in 1859 and, beyond study at the Cowles School in Boston, was largely self-directed — a professional from the start, earning first as an illustrator and designer of cards, calendars, and needlework patterns.

In the 1890s she took up the portrait miniature just as America rediscovered it, and excelled immediately: watercolor on ivory, jewel-bright, honored with medals and a founding role in the American Society of Miniature Painters. For three decades Boston’s families came to her for likenesses small enough to hold.

When fashion left the miniature behind, she simply changed fields and conquered again: from the 1920s her flower pastels — grown in her own Newburyport garden, arranged against dark grounds — became annual Boston events, selling out reliably until nearly the end of her long life. She died in 1952, at 92.

What Did Hills Paint?

Two bodies of work define her: portrait miniatures on ivory, mostly 1890s-1910s, and the flower pastels of her later decades — larkspur, zinnias, petunias, lilies — blazing against dark backgrounds with a control of the medium no American contemporary matched.

The pastels dominate her market today; the miniatures are prized by a devoted specialist collecting field with its own societies and literature.

How Much Is My Laura Coombs Hills Painting Worth?

Several things determine what a work by Laura Coombs Hills brings at auction:

• Which career — flower pastels and portrait miniatures trade in different markets with different buyers
• Subject and composition — among the pastels, the richest arrangements against her signature dark grounds lead
• Condition — pastel is fragile and fades — untouched, unfaded sheets are decisively rewarded; miniatures must be free of ivory cracks
• Framing and glass — original frames and old glass on the pastels are a plus collectors notice
• Provenance — Boston exhibition labels and family histories add interest

The honest answer is that no two are alike, and the difference between an ordinary example and an exceptional one is a conversation with a specialist, not a chart. Send us photographs through our free auction estimate form — front, back, signature, and any labels — and we will tell you what you have.

The Market for Hills

Hills’ flower pastels typically bring four figures at auction, with the finest examples reaching five figures in recent years — strong results for pastel, a testament to her standing. Miniatures trade in the specialist market at prices that reward quality and sitter interest.

Condition rules pastel values, so a specialist review of the actual sheet — free at Revere — is the essential first step.

How to Sell a Work by Hills

The strongest results for a Laura Coombs Hills work come at auction, where national and international collectors bid against each other. Revere Auctions offers free, no-obligation auction estimates: send photos and dimensions and our specialists respond with a current market valuation and a recommendation on how to sell. Consigned works are professionally photographed, cataloged, and marketed through our fine art auctions to a worldwide bidder base, and we regularly arrange shipping for consignors across the country. If you need a formal written valuation for insurance or estate purposes, our appraisal and valuation services team can help; you can also read more about how selling at auction works.

Related: American & Western paintings, our fine art department, appraisal services, free auction estimates.

Reviewed by the fine art specialists at Revere Auctions, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Laura Coombs Hills: Frequently Asked Questions

How much is a Laura Coombs Hills pastel worth?

Typically four figures at auction, with the finest flower pastels reaching five figures in recent years. Condition is decisive with pastel. Revere Auctions provides free auction estimates from photographs.

What is Laura Coombs Hills known for?

Two things: reviving the American portrait miniature — she was a founder of the American Society of Miniature Painters — and the celebrated flower pastels of her later career, which sold out Boston exhibitions for decades.

How should I photograph a pastel for an estimate?

Straight-on, without flash, and include the frame and any labels on the back. Do not unframe it — pastel smudges at a touch. Our specialists can assess condition from good photographs.

Where can I sell a Laura Coombs Hills work?

At auction with a house that reaches both American painting and miniature collectors. Revere Auctions offers free estimates and formal appraisals.

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