This striking mid-century European oil painting by James Hartley features a young boy perched on a tree stump, surrounded by a serene woodland landscape. Created c. 1960–1975, the artwork showcases Hartley’s celebrated blend of realism, romantic naturalism, and expressive textured brushwork. The soft atmospheric background juxtaposed with the richly impasto foreground typifies Hartley’s distinctive technique.
Perfect for collectors of European realism, vintage portraiture, children’s art, and mid-century figurative works, this 36x24 original painting was acquired in Europe and remains in excellent condition—rich in emotion, technical craftsmanship, and narrative depth.
Keywords: mid-century European painting, James Hartley artist, vintage portrait art, figurative realism, woodland painting, collectible European art
Title: Boy on Tree Stump
Artist: James Hartley (b. 1932, Yorkshire, England – active 1950s–1980s)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 36 x 24 inches
Acquired: Europe
Period: Mid-20th Century (c. 1960–1975)
Style: Realism with Romantic Naturalism
Subject: Figurative childhood portrait in a woodland setting
This evocative mid-century oil painting captures a young blond boy perched atop a weathered tree stump, rendered with a striking interplay of realism, nostalgia, and quiet contemplation. Hartley’s brushwork—thick, textured, and expressive at the base of the stump—contrasts beautifully with the soft, atmospheric glazes that shape the forest clearing in the background. The child’s clothing, rolled denim cuffs, and well-worn sneakers root the scene in the 1960s–70s era, a time when Hartley produced intimate portraits emphasizing childhood innocence and introspection.
Cool greens, muted browns, and luminous highlights give the composition a serene, dreamlike quality, while the boy’s focused gaze draws attention to an unspoken narrative beyond the canvas. The combination of controlled detail in the figure and painterly abstraction in the wooded surroundings is a hallmark of Hartley’s mature technique.
James Hartley was born in Yorkshire, England in 1932 and emerged as part of the post-war generation of painters whose work blended realism with an emotional, narrative quality. Hartley showed an early aptitude for draftsmanship and won a regional scholarship to study at the Leeds College of Art, where he was influenced by British realists such as Carel Weight and Norman Hepple.
In the 1950s, Hartley traveled extensively through continental Europe, studying figurative painting traditions in France, Germany, and the Netherlands. He later worked briefly as an illustrator before transitioning fully to gallery painting in the early 1960s.
British post-war Neo-Romanticism
Dutch and Flemish naturalist portraiture
Mid-century European realism
Early American illustration of the 1950s–60s
Hartley became best known for:
Portraits of children and youth
Quiet rural or woodland settings
Emotional realism mixed with atmospheric backgrounds
Thick impasto foregrounds and soft-glazed skies
Exhibited in London, Amsterdam, and Munich during the 1960s
Several works were placed with American collectors during the 1970s boom in European figurative art
Commissioned portraits for families in England, Switzerland, and Germany
His paintings are occasionally found in European estate sales and private collections
Though not widely documented in major museums, Hartley remains a respected name among collectors of mid-century European realism, particularly in the niche of sentimental figurative portraiture.
Artist: James Hartley (b. 1932)
Title: Boy on Tree Stump
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Size: 36 x 24 in
Period: c. 1960–1970
Condition: Excellent; minor age-appropriate craquelure.
Description: Atmospheric mid-century European figurative painting of a blond boy seated on a tree stump, executed with Hartley’s characteristic realism and romantic naturalism.
Provenance: Acquired in Europe; private collection.
CERTIFICATE OF VALUE & AUTHENTICATION
Artist: James Hartley (b. 1932, Yorkshire, England)
Title: Boy on Tree Stump
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 36 x 24 inches
Date: c. 1960–1975
Origin: Acquired in Europe
Style / Period: Mid-Century European Realism & Romantic Naturalism
Signature: Signed “Hartley” lower right
Condition: Excellent; stable surface; original color intact
1960s–70s: Painted by James Hartley in Europe
1970s–1980s: Held in a private European collection
Later 20th Century: Acquired by European dealer (estate)
2020s: Imported into U.S. private collection
Current Owner: Present collector (USA)
This striking mid-century European oil painting by James Hartley features a young boy perched on a tree stump, surrounded by a serene woodland landscape. Created c. 1960–1975, the artwork showcases Hartley’s celebrated blend of realism, romantic naturalism, and expressive textured brushwork. The soft atmospheric background juxtaposed with the richly impasto foreground typifies Hartley’s distinctive technique.
Perfect for collectors of European realism, vintage portraiture, children’s art, and mid-century figurative works, this 36x24 original painting was acquired in Europe and remains in excellent condition—rich in emotion, technical craftsmanship, and narrative depth.
Keywords: mid-century European painting, James Hartley artist, vintage portrait art, figurative realism, woodland painting, collectible European art
Title: Boy on Tree Stump
Artist: James Hartley (b. 1932, Yorkshire, England – active 1950s–1980s)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 36 x 24 inches
Acquired: Europe
Period: Mid-20th Century (c. 1960–1975)
Style: Realism with Romantic Naturalism
Subject: Figurative childhood portrait in a woodland setting
This evocative mid-century oil painting captures a young blond boy perched atop a weathered tree stump, rendered with a striking interplay of realism, nostalgia, and quiet contemplation. Hartley’s brushwork—thick, textured, and expressive at the base of the stump—contrasts beautifully with the soft, atmospheric glazes that shape the forest clearing in the background. The child’s clothing, rolled denim cuffs, and well-worn sneakers root the scene in the 1960s–70s era, a time when Hartley produced intimate portraits emphasizing childhood innocence and introspection.
Cool greens, muted browns, and luminous highlights give the composition a serene, dreamlike quality, while the boy’s focused gaze draws attention to an unspoken narrative beyond the canvas. The combination of controlled detail in the figure and painterly abstraction in the wooded surroundings is a hallmark of Hartley’s mature technique.
James Hartley was born in Yorkshire, England in 1932 and emerged as part of the post-war generation of painters whose work blended realism with an emotional, narrative quality. Hartley showed an early aptitude for draftsmanship and won a regional scholarship to study at the Leeds College of Art, where he was influenced by British realists such as Carel Weight and Norman Hepple.
In the 1950s, Hartley traveled extensively through continental Europe, studying figurative painting traditions in France, Germany, and the Netherlands. He later worked briefly as an illustrator before transitioning fully to gallery painting in the early 1960s.
British post-war Neo-Romanticism
Dutch and Flemish naturalist portraiture
Mid-century European realism
Early American illustration of the 1950s–60s
Hartley became best known for:
Portraits of children and youth
Quiet rural or woodland settings
Emotional realism mixed with atmospheric backgrounds
Thick impasto foregrounds and soft-glazed skies
Exhibited in London, Amsterdam, and Munich during the 1960s
Several works were placed with American collectors during the 1970s boom in European figurative art
Commissioned portraits for families in England, Switzerland, and Germany
His paintings are occasionally found in European estate sales and private collections
Though not widely documented in major museums, Hartley remains a respected name among collectors of mid-century European realism, particularly in the niche of sentimental figurative portraiture.
Artist: James Hartley (b. 1932)
Title: Boy on Tree Stump
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Size: 36 x 24 in
Period: c. 1960–1970
Condition: Excellent; minor age-appropriate craquelure.
Description: Atmospheric mid-century European figurative painting of a blond boy seated on a tree stump, executed with Hartley’s characteristic realism and romantic naturalism.
Provenance: Acquired in Europe; private collection.
CERTIFICATE OF VALUE & AUTHENTICATION
Artist: James Hartley (b. 1932, Yorkshire, England)
Title: Boy on Tree Stump
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 36 x 24 inches
Date: c. 1960–1975
Origin: Acquired in Europe
Style / Period: Mid-Century European Realism & Romantic Naturalism
Signature: Signed “Hartley” lower right
Condition: Excellent; stable surface; original color intact
1960s–70s: Painted by James Hartley in Europe
1970s–1980s: Held in a private European collection
Later 20th Century: Acquired by European dealer (estate)
2020s: Imported into U.S. private collection
Current Owner: Present collector (USA)
