Keith James Gardner RCA (1933-2025) - Harvest Time
An original oil on board by Keith James Gardner RCA depicting the British countryside at harvest time. Golden fields stretch towards a distant line of trees beneath a broad summer sky, while a tractor works across the centre of the composition and birds wheel overhead.
Gardner constructs the foreground from deep brown and ochre furrows which lead strongly into the lighter harvested field beyond. The tractor and its trail across the field provide a small but important focal point, while the birds introduce movement into the expansive sky.
The landscape is painted with the economical, direct handling associated with Gardner's smaller oils. Individual elements are suggested through broad passages of colour rather than tightly described detail. Deep earth colours in the foreground contrast with the ripe yellows and ochres of the field and the cooler blue-green tones of the sky.
The result is a compact and particularly atmospheric rural landscape, capturing both the colour of the harvest season and the activity of the working countryside.
A Double-Sided Painting
An especially interesting feature of this work is the second Gardner painting on the reverse of the board.
The reverse carries a loosely handled still life showing fruit, a dark potted plant and books arranged across a pale tabletop. It is a distinctly different subject from the rural landscape on the principal face and offers an unusual glimpse of Gardner working within the still-life tradition.
Both compositions therefore form part of the original painted board. The still life can be viewed when the board is removed from the frame.
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. His career became closely associated with Liverpool, the Wirral and North Wales, both through the institutions with which he was involved and through the landscapes he painted.
Gardner was elected to the Royal Cambrian Academy in 1977 and maintained a long association with the Academy. He worked as a full-time painter between 1975 and 1985 and subsequently spent thirteen years at the Williamson Art Gallery in Birkenhead.
The Royal Cambrian Academy recorded Gardner as specialising in small oil panels painted on the spot around North Wales and the Wirral. Although coastal and maritime subjects form an important part of his output, his work extended across rural landscape, townscape, architecture and scenes of everyday life.
His documented Royal Cambrian Academy exhibits demonstrate this breadth. In 1977 his exhibited paintings included Liverpool Waterfront and Farm near Pentre Foelas. The latter is particularly relevant to Harvest Time, demonstrating Gardner's established interest in the agricultural landscape alongside his better-known coastal subjects. In 1978 he showed Boat Re-Building, Birkenhead, while his 1981 exhibits included Rhyd-Ddu, Caernarfon Castle, Evening and Central Pier & Beach, Blackpool. The Royal Cambrian Academy's 1989 Summer Exhibition included Walking in the Park and Boats, Heswall, April Afternoon.
In 2019 the Royal Cambrian Academy mounted a dedicated retrospective exhibition of Gardner's work at its Conwy gallery, recognising his long relationship with the Academy and his contribution to painting in North Wales and Merseyside.
Details
Artist: Keith James Gardner RCA (1933-2025)
Title: Harvest Time
Medium: Oil
Support: Board
Signature: Signed Gardner lower right
Reverse: Second original Gardner oil still life
Artwork: 27 × 35 cm (10.6 × 13.8 in)
Frame: 32 × 40 cm (12.6 × 15.7 in)
Condition: The artwork and frame are both in excellent condition.
