The picture this week is a typical piece of work by a man who touched a lot of our lives through his appearances on children’s television programmes over the years.
The artist is Tony Hart from TV’s Vision On and Take Hart.
Norman Anthony (Tony) Hart was born in Maidstone in Kent in 1925. Even as a child he was always drawing, this love of art was something that he maintained all the way through his life. He eventually went to Clayesmore School, a public school down in Dorset where his best subject, was unsurprisingly, Art!
He left school in 1943 and really wanted to fly for the RAF but due to poor eyesight he wouldn’t have been able to fly, which is what he really wanted to do. So instead he followed in his fathers’ footsteps and joined the British Indian Army, where he gained an officers’ commission in the 1st Gurkha Rifles.
After India gained independence, he was informed that all junior officers would be replaced by their Indian counterparts. Consequently, he returned to civilian life, albeit as a result of the Korean War he went straight onto a commission in the Territorials attached to the Royal Artillery.
Upon demobilisation he went back to his studies to become an artist. He went to Maidstone College of Art.
After graduation he worked briefly as a display artist in a London store before settling down as a freelance artist. His break into television came after a chance meeting with a children’s TV producer at a party his brother had invited him to.
He never looked back. His first appearance was as the resident artist on a show called Saturday Special. This led to a chain of art-based children’s shows such as Playbox, Tich and Quackers, Hartbeat” Artbox Bunch and Smart Hart which kept him on TV consistently from 1952 to 2001.
He won a BAFTA in 1984 for Best Children’s Educational Programme for Take Hart and another in 1998 which was a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Something a lot of people don’t remember is that he was responsible for the design of the first Blue Peter Badge.
Later in life he dedicated his time to charity events and this picture was drawn for the winner of a charity auction at Busbridge Lakes in Godalming, Surrey on May 24, 1997, it pictures a duck swimming on one of the lakes, whilst eyeing a tasty dragonfly as it hovers nearby.
Sadly, Tony Hart suffered two strokes that meant he could no longer draw or paint. He passed away at his home in Shamley Green in Surrey in January of 2009, where he had lived with his wife for over 40 years.
He was one of life’s true gentlemen.
This painting is available to view and/or purchase in my art gallery in Holme Grange Craft Village.
It is listed at only £90.
Alternatively, we now offer a leasing arrangement, so this along with all of our paintings, can be rented for a small fixed fee.
This piece, along with many other great works, is available to view, purchase or rent at AntiqArt, the “pre-loved art” gallery at Holme Grange Craft Village or online at www.antiqart.co.uk or call us on 0118 327 5421 for further information.
