John Henderson

Hello!  Some history about this site and purpose...

When I was younger in the 70s and 80s, my grandfather Dr. D.F. Weaver (1907-1999) from Orange County, VA was a big collector of Native American art.   He and his wife Beulah Thrift from Madison, VA, had a huge attic with oils and so much other memorabilia they purchased and collected since the 1930s.   When he passed away in 1999, all the paintings my relatives were aware of were taken away, and the rest were going to auction.   I saw several Native American oils still on the wall that none of my relatives knew anything about and left for auction.    

My grandmother told me they visited Arizona (I think it was Arizona and in the 1940s) and found a Photography Studio owned by a man named John Henderson.   Nice Native American photography for sale, but in the corner, my Grandfather spotted 5 oil paintings featuring Native Americans not hung up on display.   Henderson indicated he sometimes paints his photos...and these 5 pieces were purchased by my grandfather for under $100 and kept in the attic until he died.     My grandmother told me to pick out 2 oils and take them home.   Then I found out the remaining 3 Henderson oil pieces sold for over $1000 each at auction in 1999, so my parents told me to cherish my 2 remaining Henderson oils forever.    I can identify the remaining 3 oils sold at auction and I believe all 3 were purchased by the same individual.   Maybe that person will find this website one day!

In 2017, I decided to invest in having these 2 Henderson oils professionally restored.   I found an amazing 3rd generation restorer in Saluda, VA to do the job (his info will be provided later!) and it took 2 years to complete!   The restoration revealed some amazing colors and brought life back into them.   This motivated me to start researching John Henderson and finding other pieces that exist (and possibly the remaining 3 that were sold at auction).   Unfortunately, information was limited and to confuse matters, there is another artist named James Henderson that while clearly was a different person and his paintings were different - I suspect OUR artist may have used J Henderson to sign some of his paintings too, if you look at the painting and signing style.     Some of those paintings I have found by J Henderson, appear to be credited to JAMES Henderson instead of John as well, which makes me think there is unclear info to separate these 2 artists completely.   

My goal is to fix this problem, document any info and paintings I have found, and create an accurate archive for other collectors and art biographers to use.   
I welcome any comments and contributions to reach this goal!    


 if you have one or have written material - PLEASE CONTACT ME at steve@millertek.net


BIOGRAPHICAL RESOURCES about the Artist FOUND HERE


JOHN HENDERSON ARTWORK CATALOG found as of 03/2020:

	Title:  Iron Hawk (title written on back frame) Owner:  Steve Miller (steve@millertek.net) Signature: Notes:  OIL From my grandfather's collection - purchased with 4 other paintings from artist studio in the 1940s.  This oil was restored in 2017 (details & references located HERE)
	Title:  UNTITLED (NO title written on back frame)   aka ON HORSE Owner:  Steve Miller (steve@millertek.net) Signature: Notes:  OIL From my grandfather's collection - purchased with 4 other paintings from artist studio in the 1940s.  This oil was restored in 2017 (details & references located HERE)
	Title:  Gold And Brown (title written on back frame) Owner:  Lisa Chaddick (lisa.chaddick@gmail.com) Signature: Notes: OIL Lisa sent me an email with a beautiful landscape she owns!  According to Lisa, this was bought at an estate sale in central Texas from the estate of a man who had served in the military.  Lisa would like to learn more about John Henderson art as well!
	Title:  Chief Red Boy (title written on back frame according to info found) Owner:  unknown (found this from an internet search) Signature: Notes: OIL If you own this piece, PLEASE contact me and send me more info and photos to add to this website catalog.
	Title:  Moonlight (title not verified and nothing written on back frame) Owner:  unknown (found this from an internet search) Signature: Notes: OIL If you own this piece, PLEASE contact me and send me more info and photos to add to this website catalog.
	Title:  Old Monk (title written on back frame) Owner:  unknown (found this from an internet search) Signature: Notes: OIL If you own this piece, PLEASE contact me and send me more info and photos to add to this website catalog.
	Title:  UNTITLED LANDSCAPE (NO title written on back) Owner:  Steve Miller (steve@millertek.net) Signature: Notes: PASTEL I found this pastel at Hill Auction Gallery and purchased it because the signature and style was clearly John Henderson.   I removed the frame hoping to find a title on the back of the board.  No title.