54

William P. Henderson (1877-1943) Grand Canal

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:2,500.00 USD Estimated At:7,500.00 - 9,500.00 USD
William P. Henderson (1877-1943) Grand Canal
Featured in this lot is this pastel on paper called "Sunrise on the Grand Canal," by William Penhallow Henderson born in 1877 and died in 1943. The pastel on paper features a scene of a sunrise on the grand canal with a mellow blue hue to the coloration shown in a beautifully carved frame. The piece comes complete with the pieces original frame plaque from Albert Roullier. William Penhallow Henderson is a mural painter and teacher that was born in Medford, MA in 1877. He was a pupil of Boston Museum School under Tarbell and a holder of Paige traveling scholarship with Boston Museum School. He was a member of the Denver Art Association. His portfolio includes work like "The Green Cloak;" a series of Indian dance pastels out of the Art Institute of Chicago; Marquette and Joliet mural decorations at a high school out of Joliet, IL; "Felipe de los Valles," out of Denver Art Association. From 1904 to 1910, Henderson taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Chicago. In 1904 he painted in Mexico and Arizona with colleague Carl N. Werntz. In 1905 he married Alice Corbin, a poet and assistant editor of Poetry Magazine. In 1937, Henderson designed the Navajo House of Religion, built in the style of a Navajo hogan, in Santa Fe. It is now called the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian. The museum's earliest names were the Navajo House of Prayer and House of Navajo Religion, but soon after it opened to the public its name officially became the Museum of Navajo Ceremonial Art. In 1938, Henderson completed the six WPA murals begun by Gerald Cassidy for the U.S. Courthouse (Santa Fe, New Mexico). He died in 1943. The condition of this pastel on paper is good with no obvious signs of damage to the artwork but the frame has a small chip out of the top of the frame but otherwise shows good overall condition. The measurements of this framed pastel on paper is 16" x 19" and the visible art measures 6" x 9 1/2". Provenance: From the renowned Sundog Fine Art Bozeman, Montana collection and collected by Bruce VanLandingham. Bruce VanLandingham was a pillar in the American Indian collecting community and a respected expert. Along with being an avid collector, Bruce also was the sole owner of Sundog Fine Art Gallery in Bozeman, which was both part museum and gallery.