I've become obsessed, as of late, with the lesser-known artist Daniel Gardner. Gardner is an interesting individual; anal-retentive by nature, his artwork, by contrast, is characterized by a freedom of brushstrokes and a dismissal of proportion rules. Gardner had some training with Joshua Reynolds and may have even worked on some of the leafy backgrounds of some of Reynolds' work. However his technique is all his own and a bit mysterious since he only allowed the sitter in the room with him while he painted and wouldn't allow them to see the work in progress. He also is said to have been pretty experimental with his painting, even going through the woods picking up odds and to make shades of paint. The results of his short-lived career (he retired comfortably during the peak of it) are stunningly beautiful. He can be characterized by his unique shades and creative group portraits.
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| Sir William Heathcote, Rev William Heathcote, and Major Gilbert out Hunting |
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| Mary Unthoff |
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| Albinia Countess of Buckinghamshire |
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| The Taylor Family |
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| Mrs A Clarke |
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| Miss Elliott as Circe |
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| Lord Halifax and his Secretaries |
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| Emma Countess Tankerville with her Daughters |
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| Mrs. Paul Prickett |
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| Portrait of an Actress, 1775 |
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| Lady Auckland and her Daughter |
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| Elizabeth Elstone |
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| Elizabeth Farren later Countess of Derby |
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| Lady Rushout with her Three Elder Children, c 1773-5 |
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| Lady Melbourne the Duchess of Devonshire and Anne Damer as the Witches from Macbeth, 1775 |
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| Self-Portrait, c 1770 |
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