John Henderson
- Artist: Thomas Gainsborough
- Artist: John Jones
- Artist: John Sewell
- Date: 1786
- Medium: stipple engraving
- Dimensions: Long Term Loan
- Portrays: John Henderson
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
In this stipple engraving you see the face of John Henderson rendered with delicate dots that give him a soft, almost watercolor‑like shading. His dark hair is drawn in fine strokes, and his eyes are focused forward, reflecting an actor’s alertness. The background is simple, suggesting a quiet interior – a nod to the portrait’s original painter, Thomas Gainsborough, who often set figures against plain surroundings.
The work was engraved by John Jones and published by John Sewell on 1 January 1786 as part of a European magazine. It captures an actor of the era—Henderson lived from 1747 to 1785 and appeared in twenty‑one portraits. The engraving is part of the National Portrait Gallery’s collection, illustrating how printmaking made Gainsborough’s image more widely available.
See it in person
John Henderson is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
