ANNA ANCHER

Anna Ancher (Danish, 1859–1935), The Harvesters, 1905. Oil on canvas, 17 1/8 x 22 1/8 in. Art Museums of Skagen, Denmark, SKM1465. Courtesy American Federation of Arts

Anna Ancher hailed from Skagen, Denmark, which became renowned as the site of an artists’ colony known as the Skagen Painters. Early on, she trained with the Skagen Painters and later moved to Copenhagen for three years to study privately. She also traveled abroad to further her artistic training, visiting museums in many European cities, and in 1888 remained in Paris to study with Pierre Puvis de Chavannes. Ancher exhibited regularly in Denmark and participated in the 1889 and 1900 Expositions Universelles held in Paris, where she won medals for her work. In 1916, she helped found the Association for Women Artists in Denmark.

A fully illustrated catalogue, Women Artists in Paris, 1850–1900, has been published by the American Federation of Arts and Yale University Press. Along with an art-historical overview by curator Laurence Madeline, the catalogue includes essays by Jane R. Becker, collections management associate, Metropolitan Museum of Art; Richard Kendall, former curator at large, Clark Art Institute; Bridget Alsdorf, associate professor, History of Art, Princeton University; and Vibeke Hansen, curator, Nasjonalmuseet, Oslo.