Keith James Gardner RCA (1933-2025) - Yachts on Dee from West Kirby
An original double-sided oil on board by Keith James Gardner RCA, with the principal face depicting yachts on the Dee Estuary viewed from West Kirby. Gardner looks across the beach and moorings towards a broad expanse of water filled with small sailing boats, with the low shoreline beyond forming a dark horizontal band beneath an expansive sky.
The foreground is constructed from the simple vertical accents of mooring posts and a beached sailing boat, leading the eye towards the water. Across the estuary, numerous white sails punctuate the blue-grey surface and give the painting considerable movement despite its compact scale. Gardner handles the sky particularly freely, building the broken cloud from broad strokes of grey, blue and cream.
Details
Artist: Keith James Gardner RCA (1933-2025)
Title: Yachts on Dee from West Kirby
Medium: Oil
Support: Board, painted on both sides
Signature: Signed GARDNER lower left on the principal face
Artwork: 30 × 23 cm (12 × 9 in)
Frame: 35 × 28 cm (14 × 11 in)
Condition: The artwork and frame are both in excellent condition.
A Double-Sided Painting
The reverse of the board carries a substantial second original oil by Gardner. This depicts a rural landscape with cattle grazing in a green field, mature trees and farm buildings beyond. Rather than being an incidental sketch or unfinished study, the reverse is developed as a complete second composition.
West Kirby & the Dee Estuary
West Kirby and the Dee Estuary sit firmly within the Wirral landscape that Gardner repeatedly painted. The Royal Cambrian Academy recorded him as specialising in small oil panels painted on the spot around North Wales and the Wirral, making this compact sailing scene especially characteristic of his established practice.
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.
Gardner's documented Royal Cambrian Academy exhibits included Liverpool Waterfront, Farm near Pentre Foelas, Boat Re-Building, Birkenhead, Rhyd-Ddu, Caernarfon Castle, Evening, Central Pier & Beach, Blackpool, Walking in the Park and Boats, Heswall, April Afternoon. In 2019 the Royal Cambrian Academy mounted a dedicated retrospective exhibition of his work at its Conwy gallery.
