Henshaw, Glenn Cooper Portrait of Richard B. Gruelle, 1910

Information

Glenn Henshaw was born in Windfall, in Tipton County, Indiana. His name originally was Hinshaw, but he changed the spelling of it in 1911. He was a student of J. Ottis Adams in 1901 at the Herron Art Institute, and studied in 1902 with Carl Marr in Munich. For the next 10 years he studied at the Académie Julian in Paris with Jean Paul Laurens, at École des Beaux-Arts with Leon Monnat, and at Académie Delacluse. In 1914 he moved to New York City and stayed for 20 years; he also had part-time studios in Indianapolis and Chicago. In 1934 he moved to Baltimore, Maryland, but kept a summer residence in Brown County, Indiana.

Henshaw is best known for his pastels and oils in a toned-down palette. His portraits show fleeting moments of expression on the faces. He did many cityscapes of Baltimore, Indianapolis, and Chicago as well as European locations. Often an artist adopts more than one style or medium of expression in his lifetime. Henshaw had four major creative categories during his lifetime: 1908–1915, sepia drawings; 1916–1927, pastels; 1930–1936, portraits; and 1936–1946, mystical paintings.

• Portrait of Richard B. Gruelle, 1910
• 20″ x 15″
• Art Museum of Greater Lafayette
• Keywords: drawings, portraits, pastel on paper on cardboard
• Subjects: indoors, people, men, painters, Brown County Art Colony

Even though the sketch is complete, it probably was to be the inspiration for a painting to be done at a later time. Very little color has been used, mostly in the artist’s palette. The sketch shows evidence of foxing—the small brown spots made by various molds that attack paper.

Some Points to Consider

• Ask students: What is the significance of this sketch? How might it compare with a painting of the same subject? (Art 4.5.2)
• Ask students to find areas of the sketch that are more detailed and technical than others. Why do they think Henshaw drew his subject that way? Why do they think Henshaw chose this technique and medium? (Art 4.3.1)

Suggested Activities for Classroom Follow-Up

• Help students create an artist’s palette. Use heavy cardboard and coat the top with gesso or latex paint. Let students choose the colors and arrange them in a color wheel that allows space for color mixing.