James Henderson was born on August 21, 1871 in Glasgow, Scotland. At the age of 16 years old, James began an apprenticeship in Lithography. While working his apprenticeship he took on more responsibility and was enrolled in evening classes at the Glasgow School of Art. Seven years later James began working in London. While there he had an array of jobs. He worked as a commercial artist, lithographer, and engraver. He held these jobs over a course of 15 years. James immigrated to Canada via a ship called The Parisian on March 20, 1911. When he first arrived in Canada, he started out in Winnipeg as a lithographer. Five years later he moved to Regina, Saskatchewan; soon after he moved to Fort Qu'Appelle. While in Fort Qu'Appelle, James's art flourished with a focus on oil landscapes and portraits of many indigenous people. The portraits were mainly of the Cree, Sioux, Saulteaux, and Assiniboine tribes of Saskatchewan and Alberta. Due to his work with the Indigenous people, they gave him the title of Honorary Chief at Fort Qu'Appelle's Standing Buffalo Reserve, with this title he was given the name "Wiciteowapi Wicasa" or "man who paints the old men". He also was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Saskatchewan. James Henderson passed away on July 5, 1951, in Regina. He was the first Saskatchewan artist to be nationally and internationally recognized. His work can be found at the Mackenzie Art Gallery at the University of Regina and the National Gallery of Canada Ottawa, and The Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana.
The collection contains nine original letters and envelopes written by the Canadian artist James Henderson to Dr. Wilfred D. Roy, a dentist in Plentywood, Montana. The majority of the letters are in reference to paintings that James was sending to Dr. Roy. James talked about how hard it is to send paintings or any mail across the border. He also talks about the costs involved for the paintings that he sent to Dr. Roy due to Customs questions at the border. The remainder of the letters state that James had received payment from Dr. Roy. Each letter tells how much he received and what he received that money for. The collection also contains four photographs of Henderson
This collection is open for research.
Letters written by Canadian artist James Henderson to Dr. Wilfred D. Roy, a Plentywood dentist. Letters were given to Montana State University Library by the Museum of the Rockies on April 23, 1985.
This collection was processed 2018 June 19. In 2024, the four photographs were found in the stacks and added to the collection.