John Henderson Snr Boats near a Jetty

An original 18th-century wash drawing, John Henderson, Boats near a Jetty.

This ethereal and poetic drawing in grey wash is one of a body of work described as Monro School—a name strongly associated with the early work of J.M.W. Turner and Thomas Girtin.

John Henderson Snr (1764–1843), amateur artist and wealthy patron, was a neighbour of Dr Thomas Munro (1759–1833) at Adelphi Terrace on the bank of the Thames at Charing Cross, London. Dr Monro, physician to the King, would invite young artists to his home on winter Friday evenings, retaining their work and giving them three and sixpence and a supper of oysters. Most notable among the young artists were Turner and Girtin, who were commissioned to copy sketches by older artists such as John Robert Cozens, Thomas Hearne and Edward Dayes. Henderson also made his drawings available for copying, and it is thought that he, in turn, copied the young artists' work.

Products of the Monro School were often, like the present work, grey or blue monochrome wash drawings. Some works were collaborations, and in particular Henderson seems to have some share in the series of blue-grey drawings of shipping subjects at Dover, some of which are in the Turner bequest at the British Museum. The coastal location of the present subject is unknown, but works by or attributed to Henderson in the collections at Tate, the British Museum and Yale Centre for British Art include subjects at Dover, Weymouth and Yarmouth.

For the present-day collector, Monro School works are particularly intriguing because of the complex interrelationship between Turner, Girtin and other artists associated with Monro, and the stylistic uniformity in all their work.

John Henderson's elder son, also John, was an important collector who bequeathed a large collection of works, including Girtin watercolours, to the British Museum and Old Masters to the National Gallery, London. His younger son was the sporting painter Charles Cooper Henderson, who specialised in horses and coaches.

Provenance: From the Collection of Dr E.M. Brett of Hampstead. Abbott & Holder, 30 Museum Street, WC1A 1LH.

On watermarked laid paper. The watermark appears to be the following: heraldic lion rampant wielding sword and holding a bundle of seven darts and a hat impaled on a lance. This was the symbol of the united Dutch republics (1581–1795), used as a watermark from 1654 to 1720. The motto encircling the lion appears to read: 'Pro Patria Eiusque Libertate' (For Country and Liberty) and a banner underneath bears the Dutch word Vryheid, 'freedom'.