Hart for Arts Sake

A BBC institution in his own right, Norman Antony Hart (1925-2009) was an artist from Maidstone in Kent who built a career in children's television which included regular appearances on Blue Peter from the late 1950s.

The ex-officer in the Ghurkha regiment is credited as designing the ship logo on the Blue Peter badges as well as going on to work with Peter Lord's animated plasticine character Morph.

Writing about 'The Famous Badge', Biddy Baxter and Edward Barnes would later recall:

"We decided that it was essential for the programme to have a symbol. A logo that would not only be seen in the studio each week, but would be printed on every sheet of Blue Peter writing paper, every envelope and every photo of the presenters. The extended use of the logo would give Blue Peter its identity. Above all, the logo would be on the programme's badges. What should it be? We turned to Tony Hart, the young, up-and-coming artist who had appeared in some of the very early Blue Peters. He designed a symbol wholly appropriate for Blue Peter's nautical overtones, the galleon that was to become the most famous vessal never to sail the high seas. He received the standard graphics fee of a few pounds, for which he was immensely grateful. Later when Blue Peter was a household name and Tony was presenting his own programmes, Take Hart, and Hartbeat we all bemoaned the fact that he hadn't been on an artist's equivalent of the composer's Performing Rights contract. With literally millions of Blue Peter galleons bobbing about in homes all over the British Isles and beyond, he would have been the first of the TV millionaires!"   

Blue Peter The Inside Story/Biddy Baxter and Edward Barnes/Ringpress Books/Page 33

As well as his work on Blue Peter, Tony's appearances on television included Saturday Special, Playbox, Tich and Quakers, Vision On, Take Hart, Hartbeat, Artbox Bunch and Smart Hart. 

An innovative feature on some of Hart's shows was The Gallery, which displayed art works sent in by viewers to the tune of Left Bank Two. He was also remembered for his DIY approach to art which inspired many children's art programmes for decades to come.

Tony Hart was awarded two BAFTA awards and a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Shortly after Tony's death on 18 January 2009, a Facebook organised tribute was paid to him by a flash mob of around 200 people with Morph figures outside the Tate Modern.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO0gLgQkp3o