William Biscombe Gardner

Who was William Biscombe Gardner?

William Biscombe Gardner was an English painter and engraver. Working in both watercolour and oils, he exhibited widely in London in the late 19th century at venues such as the Royal Academy and the Grosvenor Gallery. From 1896 he lived at Thirlestane Court.

He illustrated a number of books featuring the British landscape, notably "Kent", "Canterbury", and "The Peak Country". He also drew scenes from the Welsh Elan Valley in the 1890s, before it was flooded to form the Elan Valley Reservoirs, which appeared in two books by Grant Allen.

However, it was as a fine wood engraver that he was mainly known, providing illustrations for English magazines of the day such as the Pall Mall Gazette, Illustrated London News, English Illustrated Magazine and The Magazine of Art. He was a firm advocate of traditional wood engraving considering it to be the most versatile in comparison to metal engraving, etching or "process illustration".