Dr James Henderson dot com

Dr. James Henderson circa 1710

This oil painting portrait came into the possession of the compiler of this website data about five years ago. The portrait had hung in an Upstate New York Antiques Shop for some time, with no known information regarding the subject or artist.

It is a lovely oil painting created by a master painter in approximately 1710, the facts of which we shall discuss in great detail with sources cited in a later posting. The image is of what is apparently either a noble man or certainly a man of means and with a stance of importance.

The painting measures 40 inches wide by 50 inches high and it has been carefully restored at least twice. The main image is of a standing man, 3/4 length, dressed in a long coat, with a sword at his side. If nothing else were ever to have been discovered, it would still be considered an excellent painting, of great value.

The provenance of this painting has some gaps in the trail of ownership that are slightly difficult to trace, however the compiler shall explain every single detail here on this website as to it’s genuineness and most likely avenue of changes in ownership. Every detail shall be shared and the opinion of the compiler will be explained in sincere honesty.

To start with the compiler believes this is just an extremely rare situation in which a family heirloom was allowed to migrate out of the original family’s possession through generational lack of knowledge coupled with the fact that it had had some damage many years ago and the family just lost interest in it.

The painting has been examined by art dealer experts as well as historians, historical societies, a major Art Museum and it has had a forensic examination by a well known Art University Lab. There has never been even any slight possibility mentioned that it is not genuine in any way and has been proclaimed by all viewers and studies to be 100% genuine and authentic.

It is believed by the compiler to have been painted in America circa 1710 as that is where Dr. Henderson resided at the time.

There has been a major amount of research done to attempt to compare the workmanship of the artist with one of the earliest known American Portrait Painters, John Watson. Watson’s ledgers exist and there is an accounting where he stated that he painted three portraits for Dr. Henderson in 1710, two of which were acquired from descendants of Dr. Henderson, and are now owned and on display at the Boscobel Museum on the Hudson River, in the town of Garrison, NY.

The whereabouts of the third painting that Watson made for Dr. Henderson are unknown, however there is the possibility that this is that said painting. More work needs to be done to attempt to prove or disprove this theory.