The interesting Western Front and Second World War Official War Artists’ January 1919 Order of the British Empire Great War group awarded to Captain A.K. “Keith” Henderson, Royal Wilshire Yeomanry, sometime Royal Air Force and Wiltshire Regiment. Known as a Scottish artist, he was educated at the Slade School of Art in London, and the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere in Paris, and worked in both oils and watercolours. He is known for his book illustrations and his poster work for London Transport and the Empire Marketing Board. He had a long professional career that included periods as a war artist in both the First World War, in which he served in the trenches, and in the Second World War, when he was appointed as a full-time salaried artist to the Air Mnistry by the War Artists’ Advisory Committee, one of the first two artists to be appointed, the other being Paul Nash. He was highly regarded in his day and despite only having a six month contract with the W.A.A.C as it was known, his work was among the artworks shown at the first WAAC Britain at War exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in May 1941. Works by Henderson are held in numerous Scottish collections, as well as the Imperial War Museum, the RAF Museum and the National Gallery of Canada.
Group of 3: The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Officer, O.B.E., 1st type, Military Division, with hallmarks for London and date letter ‘d’ for 1919, complete with original ribbon and wearing pin; British War Medal and Victory Medal; (CAPT. A.K. HENDERSON.), with remnants of the card box of issue for one of the Great War campaign medals.
Condition: Nearly Extremely Fine.
Alan Keith Henderson, known simply as Keith Henderson, was born on 17 April 1883 in Kensington, London, one of three children born to George MacDonald Henderson, a barrister at Lincoln’s Inn, and Constance Helen, née Keith, but was brought up in Aberdeenshire as well as London, and is now recalled as a Scottish painter who worked in both oils and watercolours, and who is known for his book illustrations and his poster work for London Transport and the Empire Marketing Board. He had a long professional career that included periods as a war artist in both the First World War, in which he served in the trenches, and in the Second World War.
Keith Henderson was destined to become an artist, and studied at Orme Square School in London, Marlborough College in Wiltshire, the Slade School of Art in London, and the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere in Paris, in which city he shared a studio with Maxwell Armfield..
Owing to the Great War he volunteered for service as a Trooper and then Lance Corporal in the Wiltshire Regiment, before being commissioned into the Territorial Force as a 2nd Lieutenant into the Wiltshire Regiment on 7 February 1915, and posted to the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry for service out on the Western Front, sometime of which was spent with the Royal Air Force, possibly on employment as a sketch artist detailing the aerial views of the front lines. As a Captain with the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry, for his distinguished services during the war, he was appointed an Officer of the Military Division of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in the New Years Honours List as published in the London Gazette for 1 January 1919.
During the war, in 1917 he he married Helen Knox-Shaw at St Martin-in-the-Fields. In his book, Letters to Helen: Impressions of an Artist on the Western Front he describes his time at war, serving as a Cavalry Captain, and later moving to work for generals behind the line. In the earlier parts of the book, he describes seeing corpses and the day to day work of dealing with ill tempered horses.
Between the two world wars Henderson travelled extensively in Africa and South America and would later include images of the flora and fauna he saw on these trips in his book illustrations. Henderson worked as an illustrator, designing posters and book jackets. He illustrated and designed books for W.H Hudson and E.R Eddison, including The Worm Ouroboros, and with Normal Wilkinson, an edition of Geoffrey Chaucer’s translation of The Romaunt of the Rose. He produced poster designs for both London Transport and the Empire Marketing Board, who sent him to paint in Cyprus for over a year.
He also exhibited his work, at the Royal Academy and a solo show of paintings of Cyprus at the Beaux Arts Gallery at Bruton Place in London. In August 1927, Henderson wrote a letter to The Times, giving his address as "Eoligarry, Isle of Barra, Outer Hebrides”. He also lived at Glen Nevis and, from 1942, for several years at Spean Bridge. Henderson also worked in South Africa, Cyprus and Egypt.
At the start of the Second World War, Henderson was one of the first two artists, alongside Paul Nash, appointed as a full-time salaried artist to the Air Mnistry by the War Artists’ Advisory Committee, WAAC. Henderson was sent to RAF bases in Scotland but was frustrated to find that William Rothenstein, although not contracted to WAAC at the time, had already visited many of the same bases and made many of the portrait drawings Henderson was due to paint. This led Henderson to concentrate on ground crew, aircraft hangars, repair shops and runways. Although the painting An Improvised Test of an Under-carriage provoked fury in the Air Ministry and contributed to Henderson's six-month contract not being extended, it was among the artworks shown at the first WAAC Britain at War exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in May 1941. The painting shows a man jumping up and down on the wing of a Lockheed Hudson to test the undercarriage. Although disappointed his appointment had not been extended, Henderson continued to paint war subjects. Among these paintings was Loading Gantry for Pluto, which shows the giant gantry at W. T. Glover and Co. used for preparing the pipelines to be laid under the Channel to supply fuel to Allied forces in France.
After the Second World War Henderson continued to paint, although his style changed somewhat. By the 1970s he was painting groups of figures in minimal settings, often against all-white backgrounds. His wife, Helen died in 1971 "after nearly sixty perfectly wonderful years together”. After an interval of great heart searching he moved to London, having sold their Scottish home and his complete collection of pictures and books. During the last twenty years of his life, Henderson engraved over sixty illustrations for a book on Assyrian, Egyptian and Greek mythology which he titled Creatures and Personages, but which remained unpublished at the time of his death.
Henderson was the subject of a solo exhibition at the Palter/ Sands Gallery in Bristol in 1980. He was an active member, and major benefactor, of the Royal Watercolour Society until his death. Works by Henderson are held in numerous Scottish collections, as well as the Imperial War Museum, the RAF Museum and the National Gallery of Canada.
Facing an injury, and seeking warmer climes he moved to South Africa with family, spending his twilight years abroad. He would die there at Elgin on 24 February 1982.
