He is known to have painted figure subjects, but is chiefly remembered for his work on the Gladstone Dessert Service, made for presentation to William Ewart Gladstone, the Prime Minister, by the Liberal Working Men of Derby in 1883. Depicted on each piece in the service was a different view in Derbyshire, mostly painted by Holzendorff. The artist is known to have made preliminary drawings of the views on site. This watercolour is the only known study on paper connected with the Gladstone Dessert Service. In the background of the drawing is the newly built Museum and Art Gallery and the (now demolished) Curator's House.