Glen Cooper Henshaw
~ by Julia Pearson
Self-portrait.
Glen Cooper Henshaw, an artist known for his portraits and cityscapes, was born on August 8, 1880, in Windfall, Indiana. He was a descendant of Francis Scott Key, an interesting family notation. His mother died during his infancy and he and his older sister, Effie, were cared for by two aunts in nearby Mechanicsburg. The children were reunited with their father upon his remarriage, and Henshaw spent an endearing childhood, sketching on the family farm and immersing himself in the books of his father’ s extensive library. Classmates and teachers were ready subjects of Henshaw’ s sketching talents. He was selfcontained intellectually, loved to play-act, and was the only young man to graduate in his high school class.
In 1901, Henshaw was one of the first students at Indianapolis’ s John Herron Art School where Otto Stark was his teacher. When his instructors advised him to study in Europe, a Windfall doctor financed the trip. This served to end the budding romance between Henshaw and the doctor’ s daughter.
Henshaw first went to Munich, Germany where he studied under Carl Marr for more than a year. Moving on to Paris, Henshaw found his painting more at home in the spirit of impressionism. The next ten years were spent in Italy and France. His creative style flourished during his study under Bonnat at the Ecole des Beaux Arts and Laurens at the Academie Julien.
Marriage followed to an Italian woman named Olive, who was studying sculpture in Rodin’ s Paris studio, and the couple made their home in a small cold attic room. A friend who was the curator in a London museum facilitated a commission for Henshaw to illustrate a book of essays by Charles Lamb. This job resulted in two years in London
48 Our Brown County • Nov./ Dec. 2018