9th December 1924 - 1st November 2008

Robert Hart who died on November 1st 2008, aged 84, was an artist, sculptor and teacher. He was also a member of VOGA for the last nine years of his life.

VOGA held its first exhibition in 1998, in an empty shop, on Barry High Street. This was Robert Hart's first sight of VOGA and he and his wife Eve, became members shortly after. We all called him 'Bob' although he always exhibited under the name 'Robert Hart.'

The next few years saw VOGA establishing itself on the local art scene, with Bob playing a major role as chairman from 2001 to 2003. In 2001 there was a large VOGA exhibition in the Barry Dock Offices, in association with the Centenary celebrations of the Barry Dock Lifeboat, including a fundraising sale of postcard-sized paintings that raised over £500 for the RNLI. Bob was 77 at the time, and over the next two years as VOGA's chairman, he oversaw the group's major exhibitions in the Washington Gallery, Penarth and St David's Hall, Cardiff. In 2002 he was involved in VOGA's Vale-wide Open Studios event with 32 artists and five simultaneous local group exhibitions, while continuously painting and contributing his own work.

Most of us only knew Bob as a fellow member of VOGA and as a resident of Barry. However, he had lived and worked in many different places in England and for a short period of his early adult life he had worked in Canada, before ultimately, in retirement, settling in Barry, close to and with a view of the sea, the subject he kept returning to in his paintings. And paint he did, right up until very recently, when it just became too much.

He had grown up between the two world wars of the last century and had experienced life as a coal miner in his late teens during the second world war. Those early years resulted in strong moral and political convictions that together with hard work and perseverance led to his success as a respected artist and teacher. VOGA is pleased to acknowledge the contribution that Bob made to the group's early success with his membership and role as chairman.

Robert Hart DAE, M Ed

Two paintings by Robert Hart