Information from “Samuel’s Encyclopedia of Artists of the American West”.
Hennings childhood ties with Chicago continued through his attendance at the Art Institute of Chicago (1901-1904) and the start of his career as commercial artist. He became disillusioned with pure illustration and studied in Munich from 1912-1914 under Franz Von Stuck, the developer of Jegendstil, the German equivalent of art nouveau. The outbreak of WWI forced Hennings to return to Chicago, at a time when Oscar Mayer and Chicago’s Mayor, Carter Harrison Jr., had begun to sponsor trips to New Mexico via the Santa Fe Railway. He visited Taos in 1917 and in 1924 became a member of the Taos Society of Artists. Hennings admiration for the Taos Indians and his love of southwestern landscape are evident in his work. He often painted figures on horseback amid a strong composition of trees and foliage.
“Artists of 20th Century New Mexico” Museum of Santa Fe