Through the research of the curatorial team, many of the sites where Henderson painted were clearly identified, including exact locations on Cemetery Hill, Nose Hill, the CNR Railway Coulee, and the road to Camp Knowles, which are all accessed by roads such as the old highway out of the Valley. In a number of comparative photographs taken from more or less where Henderson would have painted these works, it is apparent that he was very attentive to details of topography and that the contours of hills and views of the Valley are faithfully depicted and not invented. Even when he was using a freer and sketchier application of paint there is a fidelity to the land forms that he was experiencing rather than just a formulaic representation of the valley landscape.
James Henderson
Untitled (View of Mission Lake and Camp Knowles), c. 1920
oil on canvas
60.6 x 76.5 cm
Collection of Fort Qu’Appelle Historical Society, donated by Marion Hamilton.
James Henderson (from top)
Untitled (CNR Coulee in autumn), formerly Untitled (autumn valley vista), c. 1932
oil on canvas
35.6 x 40.6
Collection of James Lanigan, Calgary, AB.
Winter Morning, CNR Coulee, Qu’Appelle Valley, Sask., c. 1932
oil on canvas
61.0 x 76.2
Collection of James Lanigan, Calgary, AB.
James Henderson
Storm Clearing Qu’Appelle Valley, c. 1928
oil on canvas
35.0 x 39.9 cm
Collection of James Lanigan, Calgary, Alberta.
