[3] Her paternal grandfather was the prominent animal painter James Ward, who was related by marriage to fellow artists John Jackson and George Morland.

An only child, the young Henrietta grew up surrounded by and familiar with her parents' artist acquaintances, including Sir Edwin Landseer, C. R. Leslie, and the brothers John James and Alfred Edward Chalon.

"[5] While raising her brood, Henrietta pursued her own artistic career; she worked in various genres, though she, like her husband, was noted for her historical pictures, on subjects like Thomas Chatterton and Elizabeth Fry.

After his 1879 death, the widow started her own art school to help support her family; like her contemporary Louise Jopling, Henrietta Ward specialized in training young women artists.

Ward exhibited her work at the Palace of Fine Arts at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois.