An excellent example of Henderson’s illuminated addresses. This work, dated October 30, 1920, was commissioned by the ‘surviving officers and other ranks, original members of the 28th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary force to Brigadier General John Fletcher Leopold Embury’. Both text and image are framed within a drawing of architectural elements reminiscent of Renaissance tomb architecture. Set within this frame are provincial shields and laurel leaves framing the text while above are the heraldic symbols and regimental flags of the 28th Battalion over a bleak landscape of ruined buildings. Below the text is a battle scene in no-man’s land, with exploding shells; this is flanked by the names of major battles, such as Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele, and Mons, on the left of the image and the names of cities in Saskatchewan and Manitoba on the right, linking the sacrifice of the Great War to the fate of Empire and the Dominion.
-Dan Ring
Attributed to James Henderson
Address to John Fletcher Leopold Embury from the Surviving Officers of the 28th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, Oct. 30, 1920, 1920
Vintage gelatin silver print on paper of an original illuminated address by James Henderson
21.7 x 12.8 cm
Collection of the MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina, SK.
