ARTIST: Frank Joseph Henry Gardiner (United Kingdom, 1942 - ???)
TITLE: Californian Clipper Golden West 1443 Tones
YEAR: 1985
MEDIUM: watercolor on paper
CONDITION: Minor age toning. Framed under glass.
ART SIZE: 21 x 27 inches / 53 x 68 cm
FRAME SIZE: 24 x 31 inches / 60 x 78 cm
SIGNATURE: lower right
NOTE: has artist's label on verso
CATEGORY: old antique vintage painting for auction sale online
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SKU#: 128852
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BIOGRAPHY:
Frank Joseph Henry Gardiner was raised in the London Docklands within sight of the River Thames, and so it was natural that as a boy his vivid imagination should have been fired by the majestic and ever varying panorama and daily bustle on this mighty river, with the masts of ocean vessels towering over rooftops and gliding silently between chimney pots. He became fascinated by the historic vessels of yesteryear, with the famous London clipper ships and Blackwall frigates sparking a particular passion and devotion. The artist showed an early and precocious talent for watercolour painting, but it was to be decades before he would turn to maritime art as a full-time career. After studying at Lister Technical College for three years, where his strong architectural principles were fostered, he later became well known as an illustrator of manuscripts, stamps and banknotes, before deciding upon a career in the Civil Service, as an illustrator in the Department of Ancient Monuments and Historic Buildings. In just two years he rose to head a group of twelve artists who were responsible for public illustration work all over England. This department is better known today as English Heritage, and his work can still be seen on postcards throughout the country. Frank Gardiner first began to exhibit at the Royal Society of Marine Artists in 1971, and rapidly gained numerous commissions from his association with the renowned and long established Parker Gallery in London. With an ever increasing popularity and his work then booked up to two years in advance, he was able to retire at the age of 50 to concentrate fully on his first love - marine art. The style of his work has remained remarkably consistent over the decades, with the architectural principle a recurring guide throughout. His bustling scenes of boats in company or scenes involving human history show all the spirit and evocation of a vanished and bygone age, and they have achieved wide acclaim. He works today primarily in watercolours, with a perfectionist's attention to scale, detail and perspective. His personal library of both books and archive material is truly astonishing, his studio awash with hundreds of antique photos, maps, shipwright's plans, sketches and nautical ephemera, as well as ships' models, which he also loves to build, and it is this overriding passion that he has for his work which is so evident in his finished paintings.