Artist Ted Hartley Is Causing a Stir in Palm Beach with His Vibrant Abstract Paintings

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Hartley was educated at Annapolis, Georgetown University, and Harvard Business School and was once a fighter pilot, based on one of the navy’s massive aircraft carriers, and serving two years as a White House aide in the Kennedy-Eisenhower era. Afterwards, his civilian career took a number of twists and turns over the decades, including various executive jobs before landing in Los Angeles and appearing in television shows and movies like Race to Witch Mountain and Barefoot in the Park before becoming the CEO of RKO Pictures, an independent production company.

Around 2010, when his wife Dina Merill entered into a period of declining health, Hartley decided to set up some art classes in their home. A pursuit that began as a simple hobby activity for the couple and their friends to keep his wife mentally and emotionally active would lead to the latest chapter in Hartley’s incredible life. Realizing that he had a deep passion for painting, he soon started flexing his creative muscle, transitioning from representational art into full blown expressionism with a highly unique visual language.

“Painting is a contemplative joy for me,” says Hartley, who paints from a studio in East Hampton. “It brings the satisfaction of expressing a narrative, a thought in color and brushstrokes, a source of quiet excitement that I experience from little else in my life. I’m grateful to have the chance to do this. It’s a wondrous pleasure to feel that others find something of value for themselves in my work.”

Hartley’s paintings are characterized by vibrant, dramatic brushstrokes in a kaleidoscope of colors. Filled with emotion and passion, the aesthetic hints at other creatives who found inspiration in the Hamptons, such as De Kooning, Lee Krasner, and Jackson Pollock, but ultimately Hartley’s works embody a unique artistic language that is entirely his own.

In the fall of 2019, Hartley launched his first ever solo exhibition at Keyes Art gallery in Sag Harbor, New York. Almost every painting sold out. His second solo exhibit in December 2020 was equally successful, garnering the attention of the local Hamptons art scene. Then in October 2022, the gallery presented a series of works from what Hartley calls his “Ukraine” series. Exploring the theme of conflict, the works are a call to action from Hartley, who is dedicating all proceeds from sales of the series to benefit the Olena Zelenska Foundation, a newly formed charity of the First Lady of Ukraine, which raises critical funding for education, medicine, and humanitarian aid. (Hartley had an inspirational meeting with Zelenska when she was in town in New York presenting her newfound charity.) The main work of the series Kyiv: Pro Patria, painted in hues of red, yellow, and blue, is inspired by the Battle of Kyiv, which began in late February 2022 when Russian forces attack the city. It sold for $50,000 to a noteworthy anonymous entrepreneur, with all proceeds going towards the foundation. 

This week, from March 23 to 26, a selection of Hartley’s works, are on view at Keyes Art gallery’s booth at the Palm Beach Modern and Contemporary Fair.”