Although never happy to be called a collector – "I hate being called a collector, for I never set out to collect" – Gardiner gathered together, through friendship and astute patronage, a very personal and important collection of art that closely charts the development of British Modernism. Gardiner's interest in art was deeply influenced by her long friendship with the Hepworth and through this friendship she came into contact with many of the principal figures in 20th century British art, including Hepworth's second husband, Ben Nicholson.