John Henderson was the brother of the painter Joseph Morris Henderson RSA (1863-1936) and the son of the Scottish Glaswegian painter Joseph Henderson RSW (1832-1908). His sister, Marjory Henderson married the well-known Scottish painter William McTaggart.
He also assisted at the Glasgow International Exhibition (1901) and Scottish Exhibition of National History, Art and Industry (1911) and served as a Governor of the Glasgow School of Art from 1906 to 1918. He was then appointed in 1918 as Director of the Glasgow School of Art having been acting director since 1914. He remained there until 1924. The School of Art and the Glasgow University strengthened their links under his leadership developing an Architectural Degree in 1924 which gave the School a teaching institutional status. He died suddenly in Busby, East Renfrewshire near Glasgow in 1924. During his working time at the Glasgow School of Art he painted a portrait of Andrew Fergus (1827-1887) MD MRCS, which hangs in the University of Strathclyde.
References
Johnson, J., and Anna Greutzner, Dictionary of British Artists 1880-1940, Woodbridge, 1980.
Hilary Christie-Johnson, 2013. " Joseph Henderson : Doyen of Glasgow Artists 1832-1908"