Robert Grosvenor Gardner (November 5, 1925 – June 21, 2014) was an American academic, anthropologist, and documentary filmmaker who was the Director of the Film Study Center at Harvard University from 1956 to 1997.
This allowed him to travel to Anatolia, Faiyum, and London, working with Coptic textiles and restoring Byzantine art.
He briefly taught medieval art and history at the College of Puget Sound in Washington state, where he studied the writings of anthropologist Ruth Benedict.
It was during his graduation period that he took part in an expedition on Kalahari Desert Bushmen, for which he took photographs, recorded films, and carried out elementary research work.
[6] Gardner also hosted a Boston television series from 1972 to 1981 on an ABC affiliate, showcasing works by independent filmmakers, ranging from animation (Jan Lenica, Caroline Leaf, John and Faith Hubley), experimental (Hollis Frampton, Standish Lawder), and documentary film (Les Blank, Hilary Harris).