Fine Art Auction Part I Saturday, 14 November 2026 / 11:00 am start

Louise Henderson - Untitled Abstract, Watercolour & Gouache, 1964

Lot Details

Louise Henderson (1902 - 1994) Untitled Abstract (1964) Watercolour & Gouache Signed & dated May 1964 bottom right 420 x 670mm Provenance: Private collection, Christchurch Condition: Very good Louise Etiennette Sidonie Sauze, born in Paris, had a culturally privileged childhood. Her grandfather was French State Undersecretary of Fine Arts and her father secretary to Rodin. In her own words: “My father would do whatever he had to discuss with (Rodin) and I would play among the marbles outside, in the garden, which was full of all sorts of treasures. It was quite interesting, I had a very interesting childhood really.” A qualified teacher, she studied furniture, wallpaper design, watercolour painting, history of art and crafts at tertiary level in Paris 1919–21. Married Hubert Henderson, a Cambridge-educated New Zealander, and emigrated to Christchurch 1925. Again, in her own words: “I would take my paints and go in our little car into the Canterbury countryside, to look and to paint. I had to educate myself. I had to find my own way, through investigating shape, form and structure.” She taught at the Canterbury School of Art and considered herself the founder (1927) of the renowned (Christchurch) Group, “in my own house”. The Group expanded over 50 years to include Colin McCahon, Rita Angus, Olivia Spencer Bower and Tony Fomison. The “house”, which she designed in collaboration with Heathcote Helmore, still stands at 106 Papanui Road. After moving to Wellington in 1950, her first solo exhibition was well received and she commenced painting full time. With her 1953 exhibition at the Auckland Art Gallery she became the first NZ artist to have a solo exhibition at a public gallery. In 1961 Henderson commenced lecturing in painting at Elam School of Fine Arts, Auckland University. She was an inspirational and influential teacher; her pupils include Gretchen Albrecht and Geoffrey Thornley. In 1973 she was awarded a QE2 Arts Council fellowship for her outstanding and enduring contribution to New Zealand painting. In 1993 she became Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to art – the first NZ artist to be awarded a damehood. As she later said: “It never occurred to my mind that I would become a dame. So to tell you the truth, although it is a great honour, I just sort of feel embarrassed about it.” Henderson’s watercolour dated May 1964 is an adjunct to her seminal Elements, Air and Water series, marking a return to painting after the sudden and devastating death of Hubert in 1963: “I have nothing to say and my life is over – the days are long, the house empty and I am lonely.” The series marked a significant shift in her approach: “Now I don’t think about it anymore, I just paint. I create without any reference to what I know, therefore I can better put down what I feel.” She joyfully re-embraces the NZ landscape she loves – a changing, fleeting landscape where water, sky, land and light all merge in a single breath – expressive, emotionally charged, intensely personal. As Henderson wished, the paint talks and we listen, spellbound...