Bro Halff is an artist, poet, and publisher. He grew up in Texas and pursued degrees at Southern Methodist University and Johns Hopkins University. While pursuing his education and career he lived in many warm climates, such as Dallas, the Bahamas, Spain, Peru, and Malibu, before finally making a home in San Diego. Bro spent three years as a Foreign Service Officer before deciding to devote his life to creative pursuits. He began his writing and art career in 1973. In 1983 he founded Simpler Gifts Press in San Diego and opened a gallery to showcase his art.
In the early 1990s Bro Halff saw an exhibit of Karl Bodmer’s watercolors from the 1830s. Bodmer was a Swiss painter who accompanied German Prince Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied to the American west. Bodmer documented what they saw during their yearlong expedition along the Missouri River. Bro Halff was inspired to travel to North Dakota to follow in Bodmer’s footsteps.
On this date in 1995 the Bismack Tribune reported on Halff’s 1993 trip. While Bro intended to copy Bodmer’s expedition, and spending only three days in Bismarck, he enjoy the city so much that he stayed for three weeks. He came back the summer of 1994 bought a house before returning to San Diego for the fall. By 1995 he was living half the year in North Dakota, and half in California. He never did like cold weather.
Bro Halff had fallen deeply in love with North Dakota and enjoys painting the landscape and the buildings in small towns. He later made Hawaii his winter home, but maintained his gallery and press in San Diego.
In 2020 he published two books about North Dakota titled “North Dakota Days” and “North Dakota Travels.” These books contain his poems, writings, and painting of North Dakota. While his art is held in such prominent locations as the New York City Public Library, the Guggenheim Gallery, and Fine Arts Library at UCLA, it appears his heart remains in humble North Dakota.
Dakota Datebook by Trista Raezer-Stursa
Sources:
- Author Unknown. “Traveling Artist Fell in Love with North Dakota 30 Years Ago,” KX News, August 28, 2020. https://www.kxnet.com/news/local-news/traveling-artist-fell-in-love-with-north-dakota-30-years-ago-now-its-home/. Accessed September 29, 2023.
- Cole, Janell. “Accidental Tourist, Intentional Resident: California Artist Bro Halff Finds Summer Peace in North Dakota Landscapes,” The Bismarck Tribune, October 19, 1995, pg. C1.
- Halff, Bro. “About Simpler Gifts Press and The Bro Halff Gallery,” The Bro Halff Gallery and Simpler Gifts Press. https://www.simplergifts.com/pages/about-us. accessed September 29, 2023.
- Meberg, Mitch. “Artist Bro Halff Shares Collection of Watercolors Highlighting North Dkaota and Hawaii at James Memorial Art Center,” Williston Herald, August 18, 2022. https://www.willistonherald.com/news/williston/artist-bro-halff-shares-collection-of-watercolors-highlighting-north-dakota-and-hawaii-at-james-memorial/article_f00f5b10-e341-11eb-a5eb-2f0f18525713.html accessed September 29, 2023.
