"A Replacement Horse"
Charles Cooper Henderson
(British, 1803-1877)
Oil on panel
8-3/4 x 10-1/2 inches (12-1/4 x 14 w/frame)

Charles Cooper Henderson (1803-1877) was born in Abbey House, Chertsey and one at point, studied to become a lawyer. His father was an artist himself and a patron of the arts as well. His mother also painted and had an exhibition in 1791.

Charles was estranged from his father for secretly marrying Charlotte on Christmas Eve in 1828 when she was still a young girl of only 16. The couple had 9 children, 7 of which were boys. All their children lived through infancy except one. After achieving a level of success with numerous large commissions, Henderson reconciled with his parents.

After his mother passed away, Charles inherited quite a lot of money. His wife also received a very large inheritance as well so with no financial worries to consider, Henderson turned his focus solely to painting. The money that maintained the family was from a large number of poorly kept houses in Whitechapel, London. It was later that this area became notorious due to its association with Jack the Ripper.

Henderson was a very prolific and an extremely skilled artist in the drawing of horses as well coaching and road scenes. His paintings have been acknowledged as the most accurate and authentic pictures of nineteenth century carriage, mail and stages coaches. In the 1840’s, Henderson exhibited 2 paintings at the Royal Academy.

Henderson’s paintings can be found in the collections of Yale university Art Collection, Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Victoria Art Gallery, London, Tate, London, the Courtauld Gallery.