The Blade Shearers 1978
Oil on Board
90x121cm
Signed and Dated Lower Centre
Prov: Private Collection Victoria
$15,000-18,000
Few Australian artists captured the character, humour and traditions of rural Australia with the same individuality as Pro Hart. Born Kevin Charles Hart in 1928 at Broken Hill, New South Wales, he grew up on a sheep station near Menindee, where the landscape, people and activities of the Australian outback became an enduring influence on his artistic development.
Before establishing himself as a professional artist, Hart worked as a miner in Broken Hill. Largely self-taught, he developed an immediately recognisable style characterised by strong colour, lively narrative and an instinctive understanding of rural Australian life. His paintings embraced a broad range of subjects, from mining communities and pastoral occupations to horse racing and everyday social gatherings, establishing him as one of Australia’s most recognisable and popular twentieth-century artists.
Shearing scenes feature prominently within Hart’s extensive body of work, reflecting his familiarity with sheep station life and his interest in Australia’s pastoral traditions. Before the widespread adoption of mechanical shearing in the late nineteenth century, blade shearing was a demanding occupation requiring considerable strength, endurance and skill. Through these depictions, Hart celebrated the resilience and resourcefulness of rural Australians while preserving an important aspect of the nation’s pastoral heritage.
