What was the title of J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1945 short story about a painter?

Leaf by Niggle is J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1945 short story about a painter.

The story follows Niggle, an artist who spends his life trying to paint an enormous tree, complete with leaves and a wider landscape. He is repeatedly distracted by practical duties and by the needs of his neighbour, Parish. Niggle’s unfinished painting becomes a symbolic framework for questions about work, compassion, mortality, and artistic purpose.

The story was first published in The Dublin Review in January 1945. It was later collected in various Tolkien volumes, including Tree and Leaf. Tolkien regarded it as one of his more personal allegorical stories, although he generally resisted direct one-to-one interpretations of his fiction.

Leaf by Niggle is not a Middle-earth tale and does not feature hobbits, Elves, or the One Ring. Its painter protagonist and compact, reflective structure make it distinct from Tolkien’s better-known novels.