Chicago native Libby Hart has deep Vail roots, having lived in and around the resort for over twenty years. During that time she worked the various jobs all ski-town regulars have and looking back she finds it ironic that she had to leave Vail in order to achieve her goal of being a full-time professional painter. It was this goal that spurred her to move to Vail in the first place.
Ironies aside, she has traveled a long and ultimately triumphant path from her first organized art classes at Colorado Mountain College in 1991, where she became acquainted with the Vail artist scene through painters like Joan Norris and Celine Kruger. Inspired, she left Vail for Denver where she enrolled in the famed Art Student's League and for several years drew inspiration and instruction from the likes of Quang Ho, Mark Dailey and Don Sahli. Life in Denver left her with a desire to move someplace less urban, more scenic, and (undeniably) suited to an artist's budget. That place was northern New Mexico where she happily purchased her house and paints the days away. Equally skilled in both figure and landscape she has strung up a list of impressive awards in a relatively short period of time including: a coveted scholarship to study at the Anderson Ranch in Snowmass, first place painting at the Art Student's League of Denver 2000 exhibition, and first place for two years running at the Taos Open. These achievements bode well for her career and given the quality of her work now we can expect only greater recognition of her talents in the years to come.