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Kevin Charles "Pro" Hart, MBE (30 May 192828 March 2006), was an Australian artist, born in Broken Hill, New South Wales, who was considered the father of the Australian Outback painting movement and his works are widely admired for capturing the true spirit of the outback. He grew up on his family's sheep farm in Menindee and was nicknamed "Professor" (hence "Pro") during his younger days, when he was known as an inventor.
Pro Hart was known for his novel techniques including "cannon painting" and "balloon painting". An example of his cannon painting technique appeared in a famous 1988 television commercial Hart appeared in which saw the artist create the image of a dragonfly on carpet using food. In 2002 he was using his own DNA as a mark of authenticity in his paintings. Retrospective application of a DNA mark is available for older Pro Hart paintings.
For most of his career Hart was dismissed by many critics as a mere showman, with his art often judged as populist and derivative, and not good enough for serious critical attention. Barry Pearce, the head curator of Australian art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales said that comparing Hart with the artists whose work normally hangs in the gallery was "rather like Slim Dusty being compared to Mozart". Hart considered his critics to be a part of the "art mafia" and noted that he achieved his success without any help from the arts establishment.
The painting Aboriginal Land Rights is from Pro Hart's "masks" period. This painting highlights his conspiracy ideas with regards to land rights. The scene has a map of Australia with the Aboriginal flag over the top. The people in the background "playing the communist cards" have Illuminati logos on their ties. In the foreground are a group of Aboriginal people, perhaps negotiating their rights.
He was interred in the Broken Hill cemetery.
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