John Andrew Gardner, born in Camperdown Victoria, in 1906, was a talented Australian artist celebrated in his lifetime for his evocative response to the rugged Australian landscapes and his vibrant use of colour. His story today is little-known, but is an important part of the development of Australian art. It includes his trips to the remote Hermansberg Mission, where he encountered the soon-to-be famous Albert Namanjira. Traagedy should have ended his artistic career in 1960 when he suffered massive injury from being hit by a car, which led to the loss of use of his dominant right-hand. Against all odds, he recovered to the point he was able to train his brain to divert his talent to his left hand.  

From an early age, Gardner showed a talent for art, inspired by the natural beauty of the Australian countryside. He pursued formal art education at the National Gallery Art School in Melbourne, where he honed his skills and developed a unique style characterised by bold brushwork and dynamic compositions. He worked as a commercial artist – and probably provided cartoons for magazines – but his aspiration was to become a painter. 

Rex Battarbee, a friend from his time at the NGV school became his painting companion, and while many aspiring artists eagerly headed overseas to further their careers, they headed into the mysterious Australian interior. In 1932, they headed off in their battered model-T ford, ending up a the Hermannsburg Mission in the north of South Australia. There they came across a local aboriginal stockman with artistic talent – Albert Namatjira. He was already making & decorating small mulgawood items such as paperknives and boomerangs to sell to passing visitors. Watching John & Rex painting, he is quoted as remarking: “You know, one day I’m going to take up painting. Just for a hobby, mind you.”

When the two painters returned to the Mission in 1934 and put on a display of their creations for the locals , Albert is famously quoted as saying he could do that too….. which of course he went on to do, becoming the pioneering figure in the emergence of Australia’s indigenous artist identity. While Rex is the artist given the credit ‘for teaching Namatjira’, John Gardner was just as important, and probably gave him his first lessons in watercolour painting, according to local Geelong legend. 

But Rex Battarbee gets the credit today, as in 1936, Namatjira and Battarbee went ‘walkabout’ on a two month-long excursions in and around the Macdonnell Ranges. This cemented the admiration for the local’s talent, and Battarbee championed Namatjira’s works in Adelaide, and in 1938 in his first solo exhibition at the Fine Art Society Gallery, Melbourne. Namatjira became a sensation in the art world, and rightly earns his place in the Art History records of Australia. 

In 1937, John Gardner had a solo exhibition in Melbourne of his Central Australia works, at the Athenaeum Art Gallery. The next year, Gardner travelled to Central Australia accompanied by Robert Croll, a keen collector of Aboriginal artifacts, and artist William Rowell. A series of dramatic watercolours of Aboriginal cultural events from this period are a fascinating glimpse at his interest in both the landscape and the inhabitants of the remote interior of Australia.  

 After his central Australian period, Gardner settled on a farm in the Western District, where he was a dairy farmer when not painting. In 1960, he suffered his catastrophic accident, being hit by a car and losing the use of his painting arm. This is a story of adaptation and determination, as he learnt to paint with the ‘other side’ – a very difficult task, as shown by anyone trying to use their non-preferred hand to write legibly. In the 1960’s, we see a change in his technique and style – it becomes looser, and more expressive than some of his earlier works. There’s evidence of the struggle undertaken to train his brain to use the left-hand reflexes in the same manner as the right had been used. He retired to Geelong in his latter years, and continued to paint to the end. In these latter paintings, often revisiting his earlier works or using a postcard as the source, it is evident he was able to catch-up with his earlier standard of painting, and indeed, some of these later works are even better than the earlier – a true testament to the grit & determination of this local Australian artist.  

Throughout his career, John A Gardner has exhibited in numerous galleries, starting with the Hermannsburg exhibitions in the mid-1930’s. His works are part of several significant collections, including the National Gallery of Victoria.

Gardner’s unwavering dedication to his craft and determination to continue painting despite his disability establish him as a prominent figure in the art world.

Trace the evolution of John Gardner’s artistic career through this timeline, using paintings in Moorabool’s Auctions, highlighting key moments in his story and see the gradual change in his technique.