FINE ART PREVIEW
Henderson Cisz has become one of the world’s most feted cityscape artists with several major awards and a huge array of collectors to his name, but when he arrived in London from Sao Paolo in the mid 1980s, his bright future was by no means certain. The handsome young Brazilian spoke no English, had no job lined up, and did not understand the currency. His first memory of the city was boarding a classic red route master bus and asking for Piccadilly. The conductor held out his hand and said “fifty mate”. Henderson riffled through his wallet and handed over a crisp £50 note, much to the conductor’s amusement. But what Henderson did have was friends, one of whom found him a place to sleep and a job in a West End restaurant. The basement flat he lived in was a
THE TRAVELLING MAN
temporary haven for a stream of young people from all over the world – artists, students and travellers looking for casual work and a place to stay. They introduced their new friend around and he soon found his feet. A young artist from Sicily advised him to try his luck on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue painting portraits of passing tourists to supplement his income from the restaurant. He sold his first portrait for £25, which was a huge sum compared to the £80 he was earning in a week at the restaurant. Henderson’s success led him to quit his job at the
restaurant. He spent every dry day on his corner working hard to earn enough money to send home to his mother in Brazil. When the weather was poor, he walked the city’s pavements sketching the buildings and the crowds. These were the days he loved and his work still shows traces of this early passion, with an emphasis on autumnal skies, brightly lit shop fronts and slick pavements. The work he produced was not suitable for the makeshift portrait gallery of Shaftesbury Avenue,
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