Friday, July 22, 2011

Advice for Anna

Danish painter Anna Ancher (née Brondum, 1859-1935) painted some of the finest works of the Skagen group of realists. She was married to fellow artist Michael Ancher.


(Above: Lars Gaihede Carving a Stick, 1880.)
Her accomplishment is doubly impressive, considering the discouragement she had to endure from people who thought her place was not at the easel.

Vilhelm Kyhm, her former drawing master, sent her a set of china as a wedding present, along with the note suggesting that she go down to the beach with all her painting equipment and set them “to sail the seas, because now, as a married woman, she would no longer want to be an artist, but a housewife.”

Thank you, Anna, for not listening to him!

from Northern Light: Nordic Art at the Turn of the Century, page 44.
Wikipedia on Skagen painters
Wikipedia on Anna Ancher
In Another Light: Danish Painting in the Nineteenth Century
at

3 comments:

  1. Julia L. PowellJuly 22, 2011 at 4:40 PM

    I needed this one today - thank you! I get the same message all too often!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownJuly 22, 2011 at 8:37 PM

    Wow! Thank you so much for sharing this amazing female artist! I think that many times women are STILL discouraged and it's encouraging to see someone stand up against this and succeed.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Brandy AgunJuly 24, 2011 at 1:33 AM

    Thanks. This kind of encouragement for female artists is still needed.

    ReplyDelete

Due to a high level of spam we must moderate comments. Please identify yourself by name or social media handle so we know you're not a 'bot.'