MEMBERS AREA
SPOTLIGHT
Tom and Audrey Gardner, Strathclyde Group
“For he’s a jolly good fellow...”
...and so said all of us, as we
celebrated the 90th birthday of Tom
Gardner in Harrogate on the
National Study Tour. Tom has long
been a stalwart supporter of the
AHSS, and behind every great man, is
a redoubtable woman. Audrey
Gardner is a Vice President of the
Society, and has chaired the
Strathclyde Cases Panel with
distinction, expertise and quiet good
humour for many years. Together,
they make an impressive team, and
their contribution, year in, year out, to
the work of the Society deserves
wider recognition.
Tom and Audrey were founder
members of the Strathclyde Group
in the early 1970s, when Frank
Walker was the first Chairman. Those
early meetings took place in the
Abacus Room in the Architecture
Department of Strathclyde
University. Tom had originally wanted
to be an architect, but poor eye-sight
prevented him from following that
route, although his interest in the
built environment is evident
throughout his life, in his paintings,
and involvement with the AHSS. Tom
and Audrey met in first year at
Glasgow School of Art, but Audrey
points out with a chuckle that "we
didn't get going until third year!” They
were married in 1946, and Tom
taught art in Stirlingshire "travelling
by bus through the snow of the
terrible winter of '46 – the snow
continued into June", whilst Audrey
began her teaching career in the
Gorbals.
In 1953, their first son Thomas was
born, and Colin arrived in 1956.
Meanwhile, in addition to their
normal teaching duties, Tom and
Audrey were teaching the Saturday
morning children's classes at the
Glasgow School of Art, something
Tom continued for 40 years. “It was
marvellous going into that building
every Saturday – the thrill of it never
ceased”. In a different age as regards
security, the only lock on the Art
School main door was a single
mortice lock, which Tom diligently
secured after the Saturday sessions.
In the last twenty years before their
retirements, Tom taught at Jordanhill
and Audrey at Park School.
Both continued their painting
activities over the years, Audrey
concentrating on portraits (two of
her portraits were recently used by a
film company in Melbourne as part
of a film set), and Tom on his
distinctive architectural paintings. His
work was recognised earlier this year
in an exhibition supported by David
and Anne Mulhern, in the Billiards
Room of the The Willow Tea Rooms
in Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow.
Entitled ‘Through a lens of the
imagination’, the exhibition
celebrated Tom's “rapport with
Charles Rennie Mackintosh – many
of Tom's works reflect Mackintosh's
buildings and his love of colour and
style. While techniques could be
taught, imagination cannot...Tom's
works reflect this, with his paintings
liberating shape and colour”.
Tom's lively personality, and
instinctive rebellion against authority,
led to his founding the Scottish Art
Teachers Association, demanding, and
achieving, graduate status for art
teachers. He successfully led a move
to preserve a park in Hyndland, in
Glasgow, which was going to be built
over to make a kitchen for the
nearby school. This led to the area
being given Conservation Area status,
and the forming of a Hyndland
Residents' Association, which still
flourishes.
Both Tom and Audrey are still
“very concerned about the
continuing threats to the built
environment – and we are
committed to the Society and its
future”.
Their example, and youthful
enthusiasm, remain an inspiration to
us all!
AUTUMN 2013
Hamish McPherson
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THE ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND
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