Nursery art: 12 gentle vintage pictures for a child’s room
Larsson’s toys, Renoir’s child in white, Hokusai’s lost kite and Blake’s dancing fairies: twelve gentle classic pictures of childhood for a nursery or child’s room.
A nursery picture is often the first art a child ever looks at. It should be gentle, full of things to find, and beautiful enough that the parents love it too. Old masters painted children with great tenderness, and their pictures grow with the child far better than cartoon prints.
Here are twelve, in three moods: toys and play rooms, children outdoors, and fairies and friends. Each is shown with its colour palette, and each can be ordered as a print.
Toys and play rooms
Rooms full of toys, dolls and games.
1. Toys in the Corner
Carl Larsson, Toys in the Corner, 1887. Watercolour. Nationalmuseum, Stockholm.
Carl Larsson painted this corner of forgotten toys in 1887: a wooden horse, a doll in its pram and a guitar on the wall, in the warm light of evening.
A warm, gentle picture for a nursery with wood and cream tones.
2. The Nursery
Fritz von Uhde, The Nursery, 1889. Oil on canvas. Hamburger Kunsthalle.
Fritz von Uhde painted The Nursery in 1889. Sunlight pours through the window into a blue room where three girls are lost in play among dolls and toys.
Soft blue and cream for a calm, sunny nursery.
3. Girl and Rocking Chair
Carl Larsson, Girl and Rocking Chair, 1907. Malmö Art Museum.
Larsson painted this little girl beside a red rocking chair in 1907, with the soft boughs of a decorated tree behind her.
Fresh green and red for a Scandinavian nursery.
4. Child Playing
Édouard Vuillard, Child Playing, c. 1900. Oil on cardboard. Art Institute of Chicago.
Édouard Vuillard painted his niece Annette at play around 1900, glimpsed through the legs of a chair, as if we were down on the floor with her.
Soft greens and creams for a calm, modern nursery.
Children outdoors and at play
Portraits and games, painted with great tenderness.
5. Lucie Berard (Child in White)
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Lucie Berard (Child in White), 1883. Oil on canvas. Art Institute of Chicago.
Renoir painted Lucie Bérard, the daughter of his friend and patron Paul Bérard, in 1883. Her white dress glows against soft greens.
A tender portrait for a girl’s nursery or bedroom.
6. Boy on a Ram
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes, Boy on a Ram, 1786–87. Oil on canvas. Art Institute of Chicago.
Francisco Goya painted Boy on a Ram in 1786 to 1787 as a design for a tapestry for the Spanish royal palace. A small boy plays at being a great rider.
A playful picture in soft blue and ochre.
7. Boy in Boat, Gloucester
Winslow Homer, Boy in Boat, Gloucester, 1880/81. Transparent watercolor, with touches of opaque watercolor and scraping, over graphite, on moderately thick, rough-textured, ivory wove paper. Art Institute of Chicago.
Winslow Homer spent the summer of 1880 at Gloucester in Massachusetts painting boys in boats in fresh watercolour. Here a boy rests on the calm, sunlit water.
Fresh blue and green, perfect for a boy’s room or a seaside nursery.
8. Boy Blowing Soap Bubbles
Edouard Manet, Boy Blowing Soap Bubbles, 1868. Etching. Harvard Art Museums.
Édouard Manet made this etching of a boy blowing bubbles in 1868, after his own painting of the same subject. The bubble is a moment of pure concentration.
A simple black and white print for a modern nursery.
Wonder and make believe
Goldfish, kites, fairies and songs.
9. Two Girls and Small Boy with Fishbowl
Suzuki Harunobu, Two Girls and Small Boy with Fishbowl, Edo period, circa 1765-1770. Ukiyo-e woodblock print in "chūban" format; ink and color on paper, with printed signature reading "Harunobu ga". Harvard Art Museums.
Suzuki Harunobu made this print around 1765 to 1770. Three children gaze at goldfish in a glass bowl, in soft green and coral.
Soft green and peach for a gentle nursery.
10. The Lost Kite
Katsushika Hokusai, The Lost Kite, c. 1800. Color woodblock print. Cleveland Museum of Art.
Hokusai made this print around 1800. A child’s kite is caught in the branches of an old pine, and two women gently try to distract the little one.
A sweet storytelling picture to talk about together.
11. Children Carving May Pipes (Spring Song)
Arnold Böcklin, Children Carving May Pipes (Spring Song), by 1901.
Arnold Böcklin painted children carving May pipes, the willow whistles made each spring, beside a quiet pond.
Calm greens and greys for a nature themed nursery.
12. Oberon, Titania and Puck with Fairies Dancing
William Blake, Oberon, Titania and Puck with Fairies Dancing, c. 1786.
William Blake painted the fairies of A Midsummer Night’s Dream around 1786. Oberon, Titania and Puck watch as the fairies dance in a ring.
A magical picture for a storybook nursery in sea green and soft white.
In a nursery, hang pictures securely and well away from the cot, at an adult’s eye level so they can be enjoyed now and still look right as the child grows. A pair or a row of three small prints works well above a chest of drawers. Choose soft colours from the palettes for the walls and textiles. For more gentle pictures, see art for a quiet room.
Questions
What kind of art is good for a nursery?
Gentle pictures of children, animals, play and nature, in soft colours. Classic pictures grow with the child and stay beautiful when the nursery becomes a bedroom.
Where should art go in a nursery?
Away from the cot and changing table, firmly fixed to the wall, above a chest of drawers or opposite the cot where the child can see it.
Are vintage prints good for a nursery?
Yes. Classic prints of childhood and nature are timeless, and they suit the room as it changes from nursery to child’s bedroom.
What colours are best for nursery art?
Soft, warm colours: sage, cream, pale blue, blush and ochre. Each picture in this guide is shown with its palette.