Visit Skagens Museum to see one of Denmark’s most notable collections of local art. Anna and Michael Ancher, P.S. Krøyer and Viggo Johansen are among the founders of the museum and their early impressionist paintings are on display here. See the works by the Skagen Painters collective and enjoy the sculpture garden.
Skagens Museum started over a century ago in the dining room of a hotel. Painters and poets met here regularly to plan exhibitions and share ideas. Known as the Skagen Painters, the club got its inspiration from European masters in France. During a meeting in 1908 the idea of a permanent exhibition took hold and a decade later the hotel was transformed into a museum.
Skagens Museum now includes over 1,900 works from the area. Enter the main gallery to see the creations of the now world-renowned Skagen Painters first. The talented painters and poets were clearly inspired by Jutland’s dramatic landscapes and northern light.
Don’t miss Anna Ancher’s moving oil painting Grief, one of the best known in the gallery. Anna and her husband Michael once lived in the Garden House. This is part of the complex and one of the town’s oldest buildings. Visit its café and see the refurbished studio of the Anchers and then check out the surrounding sculpture garden.
Make your way over to the old dining room of the hotel to see a remarkable fresco. The ad-hoc artwork has been created by years of visiting artists and depicts the local history in a unique way.
The Skagens Museum regularly features temporary exhibitions by Denmark’s leading contemporary artists too.
The museum is open daily during the warmer months and the last week of the year, but is closed in January. The rest of the year it is closed on Mondays only. Check the museum’s website for the opening hours during your Skagen visit.
Skagens Museum is centrally located and you can get there on foot or drive and park for free in front of the building. You pay to enter and can book a guided tour in English for an extra fee.
