The Hull to London Royal Mail Coach

Charles Cooper Henderson was one of the greatest coaching painters of the nineteenth century. Born at Chertsey in 1803, he was the son of John Henderson (1764-1843) an amateur artist and patron of Girtin and Turner. His grandfather, George Keate (1729-1797), was a distinguished man of letters, and his brother John was a great collector who bequeathed many paintings to the nation.

Henderson received his earliest tuition from Samuel Prout and was later to qualify for the Bar, although he did not practise. After his marriage to Charlotte By in 1829, against his father's wishes, Henderson was disinherited and therefore forced to earn his living by painting. He exhibited two coaching scenes at the Royal Academy in 1840 and 1848 and many of his works were published by Ackermanns and Fores.