Born in 1884 in Payson, Utah, Henry LeRoy Gardner was greatly influenced by his experience with nature as a boy working on his father's farm. At an early age, he showed a natural ability in art, but his art career did not begin until his training with E. H. Eastmond, who had a profound effect on him.
Gardner entered the Art Institute of Chicago, and later pursued studies at Pratt Institute in New York. Most of Gardner's career was spent teaching and supervising art in elementary and secondary schools. Although Gardner preferred working in oils, he also produced watercolors and etchings. Most of his work depicts the valleys and mountains of Utah, which shows his love of and familiarity with nature.
