daughter of Erik Brondum, and early showed her artistic
tendencies. Michael Ancher (whom she married in 1880)
noticed and encouraged her talent, which was first dis-
played in small crayons treating pathetic or humorous sub-
jects. From 1875-78 she studied with Khyn, and later
more or less under the direction of her husband. She has
painted exclusively small pictures, dealing with simple and
natural things, and each picture, as a rule, contains but a
single figure. She believes that a dilapidated Skagen hovel
may meet every demand of beauty. "Maageplukkerne"—"Gull plucking"—exhibited in 1883, has been called
one of the most sympathetic and unaffected pieces of
genre painting ever produced by a Danish artist.
An "Old Woman of Skagen," "A Mother and Child," and "Coffee is Ready " were among the most attractive of her pictures of homely, familiar Danish life. The last represents an old fisher, who has fallen asleep on the bench by the stove, and a young woman is waking him with the above announcement.
" A Funeral Scene " is in the Copenhagen Gallery. The coffin is hung with green wreaths; the walls of the room are red; the people stand around with a serious air. The whole story is told in a simple, homely way.
In the "History of Modern Painters " we read: "All her pictures are softly tender and full of fresh light. But the execution is downright and virile. It is only in little touches, in fine and delicate traits of observation which would probably have escaped a man, that these paintings are recognized as the work of a feminine artist."
Antigua, Mme. Hélène Marie. Born at Melun. Pupil
