Anchers Hus is the home of one of the most celebrated couples in Scandinavian art history, painters Anna Ancher and Michael Ancher, and their daughter, the painter Helga Ancher. The house and the interiors is preserved as at the time of Anna Ancher’s death in 1935.
Anchers Hus – home of the Ancher family
The artists Michael and Anna Ancher bought the house at Markvej in 1884 after the birth of their daughter Helga. For the first 30 years, the family lived in the small, low wing facing the road. When they felt a need for more space, the architect Ulrik Plesner designed a studio building (completed 1913) to the north of the original house. After the deaths of Michael in 1927 and Anna in 1935, the house stayed uninhabited. After Helga Ancher died in 1964, the house together with the paintings and contents was restored and opened as a museum in 1967.
The art collection
The Ancher family left a legacy of several thousand artworks by more than 100 Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, German, British and Dutch artists. Around 250 of these artworks are on display in the house.
The interiors
The house was decorated in a unique style to suit the eclectic taste of its owners. The Ancher family collected period furniture and decorative objects from different places including Japan. Anchers Hus is a very personal home. All surfaces are covered with souvenirs from their travels and gifts from the local community, the royal family and European luminaries of the time.
Saxilds Gaard
The former home of the town baker Saxild, the Saxilds Gaard, is right next to Michael and Anna Ancher’s home. It was in the possession of the Saxild family from the end of 18th century to 1959, and from 1810-1919 there was a bakery in the eastern wing. In 1989 the property was acquired as a gift from The Aage V. Jensen Foundations and is used as a café. Today both houses are a part of Skagens Kunstmuseer | Art Museums of Skagen
Anchers Hus is a member of the Artist’s Studio Museum Network, artiststudiomuseum.org, a network of single-artist museums, house museums and studio museums across Europe.