Late in her career Louise Henderson recounted her time in Christchurch during the 1930s, calling Christchurch “a cultured place, dull but sound”. She compared her own working process to that of her contemporary Rita Angus: “I worked on a big area, involving the intellectual process of the work itself, the overall structure and concept. Rita worked in small areas, built up the surface, bit by bit; there are more surface marks in her work.” The two artists were firm friends and often made painting trips together out into the Canterbury landscape in Henderson’s car – their most famous trip was to Cass in 1936, after which Angus painted the exemplary Cass... Henderson said of their connection, “It was good to have another artist to talk to. People didn’t approve of woman artists in New Zealand either. I was used to that. It was not new to me because my own mother had never approved.” As with Angus, Henderson’s love of the Canterbury landscape is evident in her paintings. She commented, “I thought the South was very beautiful. I learnt to sleep in my sleeping bag and stay out in the bush at night, under a tree. I enjoyed all that tremendously.” (https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/collection/2003-95)