(b May 16, 1878; d Harrow-on-the-Hill, London, Jan 29, 1972).
English writer. He inherited both his interest in medieval art and his photographic skills from his father, the antiquary Samuel Gardner. After graduating from King’s College, Cambridge, in 1901, Gardner entered the family business, the stockbrokers Laurence, Son and Gardner, with whom he remained for 40 years. His contribution to the study of medieval architecture and sculpture was considerable. He travelled throughout the British Isles and the Continent, building up an impressive photographic record of medieval monuments. This collection, now absorbed by the Conway Library of the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, includes many buildings that have since been destroyed, restored or otherwise transformed, and consequently it is of enormous value to scholars. Gardner’s most significant publications were broad surveys of medieval sculpture, which, rather than offering new interpretations of the material, usefully synthesized the findings of other scholars. Many of his works became standard textbooks for students but, by virtue of being so sumptuously illustrated, they also succeeded in making medieval art more accessible to the layman. His first major work, ...
