{"product_id":"keith-gardner-rca-birkenhead-park-oil-painting","title":"Keith Gardner RCA (1933-2025) - Birkenhead Park - Oil on Board","description":"\u003cp\u003eA lively original oil by \u003cstrong\u003eKeith Gardner RCA (1933-2025)\u003c\/strong\u003e depicting \u003cstrong\u003eBirkenhead Park\u003c\/strong\u003e, painted in the energetic, immediate manner associated with his small landscape panels.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGardner uses broad, broken strokes of blue, green, yellow and ochre to describe the road sweeping through the park, with mature trees and buildings beyond. Small figures walking at the right animate the composition, while the strongly worked foreground and bright sky give the painting a particularly spontaneous quality.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eDetails\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eArtist:\u003c\/strong\u003e Keith Gardner RCA (1933-2025)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTitle:\u003c\/strong\u003e Birkenhead Park\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMedium:\u003c\/strong\u003e Oil on board\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSupport:\u003c\/strong\u003e Board\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSignature:\u003c\/strong\u003e Signed GARDNER lower left\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eArtwork size:\u003c\/strong\u003e 30.5 × 23 cm (12 × 9 in)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFramed size:\u003c\/strong\u003e 35.5 × 28 cm (14 × 11 in)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eVerso:\u003c\/strong\u003e Inscribed “Keith Gardner” and “BIRKENHEAD PARK”\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Slight warp to board, but unnoticeable in frame.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDate:\u003c\/strong\u003e Undated\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eBirkenhead Park\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOpened in 1847, Birkenhead Park was designed by Joseph Paxton and became an important model for the development of public parks. For Gardner this was also a distinctly local subject. Rather than treating the park as a formal architectural study, he concentrates on the familiar experience of the place: the roadway, mature planting, surrounding buildings and people moving through the landscape.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe location has a strong connection with the artist. Gardner was Liverpool-born, trained in Liverpool and Birkenhead, and became closely associated with the Wirral. His small oil panels frequently recorded places around the Wirral and North Wales, making \u003cem\u003eBirkenhead Park\u003c\/em\u003e a characteristic example of both his subject matter and working format.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eAbout the Artist\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKeith Gardner RCA (1933-2025)\u003c\/strong\u003e was born in Liverpool and studied at Liverpool Art School before continuing his training at the Laird School of Art in Birkenhead. He became a full-time painter in 1975 and was elected a member of the Royal Cambrian Academy in 1977.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGardner developed a particular reputation for small oil panels painted directly from the landscape, especially around the Wirral and North Wales. His paintings are characterised by vigorous brushwork, strong colour and an economical approach to describing buildings, figures and landscape.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHis association with the Wirral extended beyond his subject matter. Gardner worked for thirteen years at the Williamson Art Gallery and Museum in Birkenhead, and the Royal Cambrian Academy marked his long career with a retrospective exhibition in 2019.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Crag Bank Art","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54420476920146,"sku":"CBA-353","price":95.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1078\/0904\/6866\/files\/IMG_4110.jpg?v=1787902255","url":"https:\/\/cragbankart.co.uk\/products\/keith-gardner-rca-birkenhead-park-oil-painting","provider":"Crag Bank Art","version":"1.0","type":"link"}