Warwick Henderson, is a New Zealand gallerist, art collector, art fair pioneer and author of "Behind the Canvas – An Insider's Guide to the New Zealand Art Market" and "The Fascinating History of Toys and Games around The World".
Background
Henderson launched an Art Business in the late 1970s from an office in Emily Place, Auckland, New Zealand where he established an art trading and export company, initially specialising in the exports of New Zealand created artwork.
Arts career
Henderson established the Artex Art Fair in New Zealand in 1986 and in 1994 was instrumental in the formation of the "Contemporary Fine Art Dealers Association based in Auckland, New Zealand. As vice president, together with the steering committee, Henderson co-founded the inaugural Auckland Art Fair in 2005. Henderson built a purpose built dealer gallery in Parnell in 1987, The Warwick Henderson Gallery has since held over 300 exhibitions and has represented New Zealand artists such as Michael Illingworth, Philip Trusttum, Nigel Brown, Mervyn Williams, Fatu Feu'u, Philippa Blair, Robyn Kahukiwa, Dame Louise Henderson, Trevor Moffitt, Keith Patterson and Rozi Demant. Henderson has been involved in the promotion of South Pacific Art in New Zealand, this being a theme at several New Zealand art fairs where he has exhibited. Henderson also holds an Auctioneers licence and has organised fundraiser and general art auctions since 1985.
Museum Exhibitions
From 1996 to 1998 Henderson curated two shows which toured museums in New Zealand, "The Toy Show" and “The Games Show”. The Museums that hosted these shows included, among others, the Auckland War Memorial Museum – Tamaki Paenga a Hira, the Waikato Museum – Te Whare Taonga O and the Christchurch Museum. The shows involved hundreds of early period and antique games and toys, revealing the way these items reflect and record the path of social and economic history.
Publications
Henderson wrote a book on the New Zealand Art Market and Art Collecting in 2012. This book includes chapters on subjects such as Building an Art Collection, Art at Auction, Buying Art for Investment, How to Avoid Fakes and Forgeries, Selling Artwork, How Dealer Galleries Operate, Taking Care of Artwork, Advice for Artists, Conceptual Art, Public Galleries, Funding Agencies and Private Benefactors, How to Find a Bargain and An Overview and History of the Art Market. The book was widely reviewed. In 2018 Henderson wrote a book detailing the history of toy and games , published New Holland. The book includes over 300 illustrations and focuses on the way in which toys and games reflect history including, design, fashion, historical events, social changes and the development and discovery of the materials used in their manufacture. Complete chapters refer to the discovery and development of plastics and aluminium. Other chapters discuss the influence of many historical events on toymaking such as the “Battle of the Little Big Horn”, the sinking of the Titanic, the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb and the Moon landing. The author maintains antique toys are not just items that were played with but also inspired many famous inventions and showcase and era or segment of history. The book was released internationally and positively reviewed.
Essays and articles
Henderson has written for various magazines including articles and essays for Personal Investor Magazine, Home and Building Magazine, Carters Antique Guide and Antique Toy World Magazine: "The Art of Art Investment", Personal Investment New Zealand Magazine, July 1987, Pages 64 – 66 "Good Paintings with Limited Funds" Personal Investment New Zealand Magazine, August 1987, Pages 126 – 127 "Comment – Artex 1990" Home and Building Magazine 1990, December 1990 – January 1991, Page 162 "Antiques – Fine art or Fun Ho" Home and Building Magazine, December 1990 – January 1991 Pages 96 – 97 "New Zealand Toys are FunHo!" Carters Antiques and Collectibles Magazine, March 1992, Pages 64 - 65 "Art Market Shows Buoyancy" Carters Antiques and Collectibles Magazine New Zealand and Australia, July 1992, Page 41 "Triplets – Three Antique Pedal Cars – A True Story" Antique Toy World Magazine, April 1993, Pages 50 – 52 "Pedal Cars at the Oasis, Pedal Cars on the Moon", Antique Toy World Magazine, November 1995, vol 25 311, Pages 72–74 "Introduction – The Toy Show", Published Auckland Museum December 1996 "Born in Te Kopuru", True Tales of Te Kopuru, Edited by Christine Rope, 2018, Pages 75-77
