Bertha Wegmann

Bertha Wegmann (1847–1926) was a leading figure in late nineteenth-century Danish art, who began to establish an independent professional career during the 1860s when women were still excluded from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Born in the south of Switzerland in 1847, Wegmann grew up in Copenhagen in a merchant family and was later shaped by her training in Munich and extended stays in Paris. Wegmann established herself as one of Denmark’s most accomplished portraitists of her generation, achieving success at the Paris Salon. A key figure in advancing women’s professional opportunities in the arts, Wegmann was a board member at The Drawing School for Women (Tegne- og Kunstindustriskolen for Kvinder) from 1887 to 1907 and was a leading contributor to the The Women’s Exhibition (Kvindernes Udstilling) in Copenhagen in 1895.