Making a Nina out of a moleHIll?

 

unnamed, N.R. (Nina Hill), 10"x14", oil on MDF board, 1943

    This was one of several paintings offered by a North Carolina seller on ebay in October 2013. Some were signed "Nina Hill" and some had no visible signature, but all were undoubtedly by the same artist. I purchased this painting, which had no visible signature. Upon taking the painting out of the frame, I discovered a monogram, "NR 43". My guess would be, based on the fact that one painting was signed by Nina Hill and dated 1958, that she married a man named Hill after 1943 and before 1958, though the name change could also have been the result of a divorce. The sellers of this painting could not remember where and when they purchased it:

"I wish I could have more to tell you, we are in our mid 70s and have been to many sales over the years. We purchased the painting approx. 15 to 20 years ago. Possibly from a sale in the Pinehurst, N.C. area. I have no idea as to time of year."

    Several of the paintings were in Art Deco frames, similar to the one on my painting. There are a half dozen women named Nina Hill in North Carolina in the Social Security Death Index, though none were in the vicinity of Pinehurst. Note that the style of the trees in the 1943 and 1958 paintings are very similar, which may indicate that this artist's work and style were mature by 1943 and that she had been working for some time by then. The 1958 painting was later resold at auction attributed as the Nina Hill 1877-1970 who is weakly listed on AskArt.com. This attribution seems very iffy, based on the lack of any other information about this artist on that site, or in the auction listing. There is also no Nina Hill with these dates listed in the Social Security Death Index. There are several paintings at various auction house sites attributed to a British artist named Nina Hill 1877-1970 and her work does bear some similarity to this artist's work but not similar enough, in my opinion, to conclude that all of these works are by the same artist. The Dictionary of British Artists 1880-1940 by Johnson gives the following information about the British Nina Hill:

"Hill, Mrs. Nina. Exh 1927-1936. Flower and still life painter. Reigate, Surrey, 1927; Westerham, Kent, 1933. L 1, RA 5, RBA 1, RHA 1, RI 12, RSA 2. "

Any help in sorting this out would be appreciated!

 Nina Hill monogram

Other Nina Hill paintings and signatures