Known for miniature portraits, floral paintings in pastel on ivory and watercolor, as well as oil and pastel landscapes, Laura Coombs Hills was a key person in the revival of miniature painting in America. In 1904, she was awarded a Gold Medal for her miniatures at the St. Louis Exposition, and in 1916, she earned the first Medal of Honor ever given by the Pennsylvania Society of Miniature Painters.

She briefly studied at the Cowles Art School in Boston, the New York Art Students League, and with Helen Knowlton, but was described as "comparatively self-taught." Her style was called miniature portraiture, something she learned in England in 1893 when she saw examples there.

Coombs had a long-time ...