Rena Gardiner: Artist and Printmaker

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During the 1950s, she concentrated on her teaching, although her colleague and lifelong friend Joy Cross noticed that she could not stop herself drawing or sketching in any spare moment. When the school moved in 1960 from their old Victorian buildings to a new campus on Castle Lane, it was decided that Rena would paint a mural of the old school on the vestibule wall in the new one. It took her the best part of the Christmas Term of 1959 – Joy Cross remembers that the Head gave her a lighter timetable – and it is enormous: about ten feet high and thirty feet long. It teems with life. The grounds are full of children playing, apart from a group posing for a photograph, and even the windows of the school buildings reveal lessons going on: Joy is taking a history lesson and Rena herself has an art class on a balcony. Rena Gardiner’s guidebooks to historic places, buildings and the countryside have an idiosyncratic style that is unique in post-war British art. Enthusiasts for her work and admirers of her lithographic techniques have avidly collected her books. In recent years a new generation of artists and printmakers have discovered her work, helping to spread the word and foster the recognition she so richly deserves. Rena followed on in the great tradition of British topographic artists and from the rich era of autolithography of the 1940s and 50s, creating her own very individual and personal visual style. Independent, self-reliant, Rena dedicated her life to the writing, illustrating and printing of her books, working alone in her thatched cottage in the heart of Dorset. An unsung heroine of printmaking, uninterested in publicity or fame, she created a body of work that is instantly recognisable for its exuberant use of colour and texture. Her technique was completely her own, and bridged the gap between the studio print and commercial production – between the fine art of the private press and mainstream publishing. Because of the hand-crafted nature of her process, no two books of hers are the same. Originally written, drawn, lithographed and bound for friends in 1960 in an edition of only 30, ‘Portrait of Dorset: The South-east’ by the printmaker, author and artist Rena Gardiner is just-published in a brand new edition by Design For Today. Read an excerpt below. To be precise, little seems to be factually known, for there are plenty of tales and taradiddles about the tower. All that Historic England has to say about the grade II* listed building is that it is ‘probably late 18th century’, which seems about right, but does rather destroy the first oft-told tale in which the ‘family watched the Armada sail up the channel’ from the top of the tower in 1588. Rena Gardiner’s view of the tower from the gorgeous graphic guidebook she produced in 1973. This first book on the artist and printmaker Rena Gardiner (1929–1999) is long overdue. Her guidebooks to historic places, buildings and the countryside have an idiosyncratic style that is unique in post-war British art. Her principal achievement was some 45 books, all of which she wrote, illustrated and printed herself, and of which no two copies are the same. But her legacy also includes paintings, pastels and linocut prints. Her collectors and admirers are many, and in recent years a new generation of artists and printmakers have discovered her work, helping to spread the word and foster the recognition she merits.

Rena Gardiner’s utterly charming guidebook to Cotehele, first published by the National Trust in 1973, describes the ‘Prospect Tower’ as looking like a church tower from a distance whereas, she continues, it is ‘nothing more than a folly’. Nothing more than a folly??? This casual comment can be forgiven when one sees her distinctive and delightful illustrations – she was clearly a fan of the landmark. Gardiner’s text describes another alleged function of the tower: that it was used to signal between Cotehele and Maker church on the Mount Edgcumbe estate (which is feasible – the two towers have sight of each other). The tower’s internal steps were missing when the property passed to the National Trust, but a new wooden staircase was installed so you can climb up and enjoy the view for yourself. There’s more on Cothele here https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/cornwall/cotehele The mural for Bournemouth School for Girls contains many fascinating details: Rena’s motor scooter can be seen between the main buildings, and she herself is taking an art class on a balcony. From the mid- 1950s through to the 1980s, Gardiner produced some of the most imaginative and lively lithographs and books. Initially her books were self-published, but then The National Trust commissioned her to produce guidebooks to some of their properties. This allowed her to become a full time illustrator and artist in later life. In the main her subject matter was topographical and she had an absorbing interest in architecture and, above all Dorset. This is a quote from one of Rena Gardiner’s guidebooks on Dorset. Rena Gardiner had a unique and very distinctive style of illustrating. She was best known for her guidebooks and designed and crafted the whole process, by hand, from the initial sketches through to the completed book. Looking at them now her illustrations are very typical of the period, however the handmade, artisan approach to her work has recently experienced a resurgence. She bridged the gap between studio print and commercial production.Her reputation continues to grow, with several exhibitions in recent years, particularly at National Trust properties. Further reading This required her to put on a dress and hat in which she felt most awkward; returning home she was relieved to don her normal practical attire of trousers and polo shirt,’ notes Julian in his text for the book. In 1970, Rena gave up her teaching job and dedicated all her time to print making over the course of the next 20 years she designed and printed scores of topographical guide books All of these were printed at home on her own presses, without traditional publishers or other outside help. What she did was unique, and blurred the lines between art, illustration, printmaking and publishing. I’ve not been told this but I suspect she didn’t suffer fools well,’ he says. ‘She was not naturally gregarious and did not participate in village life at Tarrant Monkton of drinks and dinner parties. She would though, if asked, gladly help out with cards to be sold for church funds, but generally she just got on with her work and saw the small circle of friends she knew from her days as a teacher.’ From then on, Rena had enough confidence and skill to work on her own, and she rarely collaborated again. Her next project was the previously mentioned Dorset trilogy, and by now she was so busy with her printing work that she decided that she had to give up her teaching post at BSG. She had outgrown her cottage in Wareham, which was far too small to cope with a printing press and all the paraphernalia that went with it, so she moved to a cottage in Tarrant Monkton which Joy had spotted in the Echo. She adored it, and the last thirty years of her life were spent at The Thatch Cottage, a name which would adorn every book she was to produce from now on.

The original diary is painted in gouache, with some pen and ink details. This hardcover edition aims to recreate the original diary as closely as possible. It has been lithographically printed to the same size as the original, on G.F. Smith paper. This edition also comes with extra added treats. Cotehele was the first property to be accepted in lieu of death duties by the newly-created National Land Fund in 1947, and was passed to the National Trust. The tower is just one of the many attractions of the Cotehele estate. Rena Gardiner’s overview of Cotehele from the 1973 guidebook produced for the National Trust.Gardiner’s work ranged widely, but Dorset was her muse. Five years before her move to Tarrant Monkton, Gardiner created the book Portrait of Dorset: The South East, and published it herself, taking three years to make the lithographs, write and set the text, producing just thirty copies. The publisher Design For Today has just reissued Portrait of Dorset in a facsimile edition, with an added, useful ‘appreciation’ of Gardiner which includes a brief biography and a summary of her working methods, written by Joe Pearson, the publisher. Rena Gardiner dedicated her life to her art, doing so alone in a thatched cottage in the heart of Dorset. Combining the great tradition of British topographic artists with the rich era of autolithography of the 1940s and 1950s, she created her own very personal and individual visual style. An unsung heroine of printmaking, uninterested in publicity or fame, she created an artistic legacy that is instantly recognisable for its exuberant use of colour and texture. Rena Gardiner was born on 4 April 1929 in Epsom Surrey. She attended a local grammar school, and showed a talent for the visual arts. On leaving she enrolled at Kingston College of Art, and there, along with drawing and printing classes, she also learnt book binding and typography – skills that were to hold her in good stead later on. After this initial course she studied for a further two years on the National Diploma specialising in book illustration. It was on this course that she was introduced to lithography a printing process that was to become a passion for the rest of her life. The publication of Rena Gardiner: Artist and Printmaker, which includes an exhaustive list of her books, leaflets, cards and prints, has shone a light – albeit belatedly – on this most unsung of Dorset art figures and yet even now she remains something of an enigma. How pleasing. ◗ Inheriting her father’s love of technical drawing and anything mechanical at the age of 17 she went to study graphics and illustration at Kingston School of Art.

With more space in which to work if not live, within five years she had given up teaching and was focussing all her efforts on The Workshop Press producing books for clients including the National Trust. She shied away from publicity, although articles about her work did appear from time to time, had little interest in critical acclaim and not much more in financial dividends. She wanted the guidebooks to do well, they paid the bills, but the work was its own reward. In 1960 she produced her first book on Dorset: Portrait of Dorset, drawing directly on to the lithographic plates, and experimenting with texture. She applied colour instinctively as the plates were being printed – no two books were the same. She produced 30 numbered copies.She was probably best known for the many guidebooks she made, and her largest client was the National Trust, but she also produced many lithographs and linocuts of buildings and landscapes from all over the country and of her travels in Europe.