Pro Hart MBE

Pro Hart MBE (1928-2006) was born in Broken Hill, NSW, Australia in 1928. He grew up on the family sheep station "Larloona" situated near Broken Hill, and he was educated by correspondence with this brother Bob, and their Mother as tutor. In his early twenties Pro moved to Broken Hill and worked underground as a miner. In 1960 he married Raylee June Tonkin and they had five children, three boys and two girls. From age seven, Pro loved to sketch and paint. He began taking his gift seriously in his early twenties when he first used painting as a creative outlet to keep him sane from underground life as a miner. To develop his gift, Pro attended a few local art classes but is mainly self-taught. He was discovered in 1962 by a gallery director in Adelaide. From there his success as an artist began to flourish. Mainly working in oils and acrylics, Pro used any tool or method to achieve the desired outcome for his work. He drew upon techniques of layering, chiaroscuro, glazing, scumbling, scratching and Alla prima. Pro was also a sculptor working with welded steel, bronze and ceramics. His private complex, including a three-storey gallery in Broken Hill, houses one of the largest private collections in the Southern Hemisphere, featuring both Australian and European Masters.