Career
He trained with Abel Bowen in Boston and in 1826 went into business for himself. Hartwell"s work appeared in the American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge and other publications. Among Hartwell"s students were artists George Loring Brown and Benjamin F. Childs.
He continued as an engraver until 1851, when he turned to portrait painting.
One of Hartwell"s children, Henry Walker Hartwell, became an architect in the Boston firm Hartwell and Richardson.