Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Nancy Prator Hollinghurst made the journey to New York for the first time in 1998 to obtain her BFA from the School of Visual Arts. Upon graduating, she relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina where she worked as a portrait artist and muralist. While in Charlotte, her career made great leaps with press and exhibitions, but most importantly in 2005, with a private patronage for four months travel and study in Europe. Having never been to Europe, this voyage affected Hollinghurst greatly, and it was while still overseas that she decided it was time to return to New York and pursue an MFA. In 2006 she began intense studies in figurative work at the New York Academy of Art. Upon graduation from the Academy, Prator found herself in Europe once more as a recipient of the Prince of Wales painting fellowship in 2008.
Nancy Prator Hollinghurst currently work as a studio painter for artist Jeff Koons, and also independently out of her Brooklyn studio.