(c.1750 - 1805)
Portrait painter Daniel Gardner was born in Kendal, Westmorland; the son of a master baker. He was taught by painter George Romney and followed Romney to London in 1767/8. He enrolled at the Royal Academy Schools in 1770 and, in 1773, had a drawing accepted for exhibition at the Academy, the only time he ever exhibited. He became a studio assistant to Sir Joshua Reynolds. As well as oil paintings, he also produced pastel group portraits. Gardner accumulated land and property in and around Kendall until his death. He maintained a lasting friendship with landscape painter John Constable, whose portrait he painted in 1796. Late in life he gave up painting to concentrate on money-making ventures. He died in London of a liver complaint, aged 55.
