A characterful double-sided oil on board by Keith Gardner RCA, pairing a compact boat scene with a view towards Conwy Castle on the reverse.
Details
Artist: Keith James Gardner RCA (1933-2025)
Title: Boat Scene / Conwy Castle
Medium: Oil
Support: Board, painted on both sides
Signature: Unsigned
Artwork size: 29 × 40 cm (11.4 × 15.7 in)
Frame size: 34.5 × 45.5 cm (13.6 × 17.9 in)
Condition: Very good condition
Provenance: The Estate of Keith Gardner
Conwy and North Wales
Conwy sits firmly within Gardner's documented painting territory. He repeatedly painted North Wales, including coastal, harbour and landscape subjects around Conwy and the surrounding region.
The reverse, Conwy Castle, appears less fully developed than the Boat Scene, with areas suggesting a painting left at an earlier stage of completion. It is therefore best understood as a working oil study rather than a highly finished second composition.
Neither side is signed. Attribution is supported by provenance from the Estate of Keith Gardner and by the subject matter and working format.
About the Artist
Keith James Gardner RCA (1933-2025) was born in Liverpool and studied at Liverpool Art School and the Laird School of Art in Birkenhead.
He became an associate member of the Royal Cambrian Academy in 1977 and a full member in 1983. Gardner worked as a full-time painter from 1975 to 1985 before spending thirteen years at the Williamson Art Gallery in Birkenhead.
The Royal Cambrian Academy described Gardner as specialising in small “on the spot” oil panels painted around North Wales and the Wirral. His exhibition record includes North Wales, coastal, harbour and rural subjects, making this combination of a boat scene and Conwy Castle entirely consistent with the geographical and subject range of his work.
