Kevin 'Pro' Hart MBE (b. 1928), painter and sculptor, was born in Broken Hill, NSW, and grew up on his family's nearby sheep station. He worked as a miner in his early twenties before turning to painting full time at the age of thirty. In 1962 an Adelaide gallery director discovered Hart and mounted the artist's first solo exhibition. Since his first London solo show in 1972 his work has been exhibited all round the world, from Los Angeles and New York to Cairo and Manila, and his paintings are held in the collections of Prince Philip and the White House. Known mainly for his paintings in oils and acrylics, scenes of bush life in electric blue, orange and mustard, he also makes sculptures in steel, bronze and ceramics. Genuine Harts are now identifiable through his own genetic mark, applied to the works via a process known as DNA ArtGuard. One of the country's most popular and widely recognised artists, in 1976 Hart received an MBE for his services to art in Australia.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004
© Nick Young
Accession number: 2004.234
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