Penny Hoar
July 21, 1952 - February 7, 1997

Penny Hoar   has died -- and her many friends in the various Toronto social circles in which she travelled mourn.

Penny at Lorraine's ("The Contessa") birthday party, 1993.

Penny had a knack for the outrageous and the cutting edge. Among her many talents and professions, the most media-friendly was that of the transformation artist. She turned Ken into Barbie. She described her vocation of cross-dressing dominatrix as a "power inversion" which created a balance in her client's lives. She equated her erotic sessions with her client's therapeutic needs.

Her house was designed around full-length mirrors, She said that if there weren't full-length mirrors, there wouldn't be transvestites. Her clients amused themselves endlessly with how wonderful their tits, asses and legs looked.

The best description of Penny Hoar is in the bio from her campaign flyer (each flyer had a free condom attached) when she ran as a Rogue Rhino in the [1993] federal election on a safe sex platform.

"Penny Hoar was born and white bred in Toronto and has been the toast of the town ever since. Her occupations have been as numerous as Poland's.

Penny Hoar, profiled with this great centrefold in Toronto Life, August 1994.

"This media darling has worked in stage, screen and television, on both sides of the Curtain. She had been an actress, dancer, and model; worked behind the scenes as a costume designer for the nude theatre troupe l'Eskabel in Montreal; choreographer and set designer; and acted as a major source of inspiration for many Toronto truck drivers in lingerie and dresses. She has graphically exhibited her talent as a painter in her numerous Performance Art pieces. As a fashion designer, she has run several boutiques, from Queen St. to Mexico City.

One of Penny's paintings, displayed at WhoreCulture: An XXXtravaganza of Sex Work, October 1994.

"She has demonstrated her culinary capacities at her bankrupt Toronto restaurant, the Last Supper. She is fluent in four languages, English, Spanish, French and Symbionese. While globe-trotting through 18 countries on four continents (she's been to the Indies in her undies), she has used her cunning linguistic skills to instruct students in the languages, art and dance (here, there and everywhere), and romance, setting up her own gigolo school south of Acapulco."

Penny's Art Tart trademark was the use of feathers. She made giant-sized paintings on which she could roll naked.

She created canvases for the bedroom, allowing people to experience the eroticism of feathers. As an erotic tool, Penny took feathers further. She loved their natural irradiance; she produced feather paintings that glowed. Her love for their tactile and brilliant properties represented her own soft touch with the many souls who have experienced her joy.

Penny speaking at the Forum on Prostitution, organized by the E. Fry Society, at the Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, December 1995. (With Matthew McGowan, background left.)

Read Penny's poem:
"I'm a Damn Dom Now"

Penny Hoar Profile,
Toronto Life, August 1994.

(Penny Hoar was a member and supporter of the Sex Workers' Alliance of Toronto. She also served on the board of directors for Maggie's, the Toronto Prostitutes' Community Service Project. This obituary was published in Xtra! February 27, 1997, No. 322.)