Summer at the Hirschsprung Collection

30 June marked the start of the summer holiday season at the Hirschsprung Collection. The summer activities include a return of highlights from our rich collections, a new exhibition of pastels, guided tours in English, film screenings – and a treasure hunt for children.

Rehanging the museum collections

The Hirschsprung Collection is home to more than 100 years of Danish art, ranging from Golden Age art to the Skagen painters and the Symbolists. Summer holiday visitors can explore a rehang of the museum’s collections, featuring major masterpieces by e.g. C.W. Eckersberg, Christen Købke, Anna Ancher, P.S. Krøyer and Vilhelm Hammershøi. This summer’s display will feature several new acquisitions, including Hammershøi’s important painting 'Bedchamber' from 1890, which the museum recently received as a bequest from English art dealer Lady Jane Abdy. You will also have the opportunity to view several works that are usually kept in storage, including a vast drawing by J.F. Willumsen: standing almost three metres tall, this preparatory drawing formed the basis of his 1912 masterpiece A Mountain Climber.

Pastel exhibition in the garden room

From 30 June to 13 January we show a selection of the museum’s many exquisite pastels in the garden room. Here you will find works by artists Anna Ancher, P.S. Krøyer, Frants Henningsen, Edma Frølich Stage and Carl Thomsen. Pastels are fragile and very sensitive to light, so they are usually kept in storage and only rarely on display. You can read more about the exhibition here.

Activity sheets for children

Throughout the summer holidays, children and their grown-ups can go explore the collections with fun activity sheets. The tasks consist in finding little details hidden in the art – once every detail has been found, each detail hunter will receive a small prize as a reward. The sheets come free with standard admission tickets; pick up yours from the information desk.

Guided tours in English every Saturday

Throughout the summer holidays, visitors can join a guided tour in English every Saturday. The tour takes you through the museum’s collection of more than 100 years of Danish art exhibited in a home-like, intimate setting. Here you can hear the story of the Hirschsprung family and the founding of the museum and get insight into nineteenth-century art and life. You can find specific dates and times for the guided tours here.

Film about Heinrich Hirschsprung and the creation of the museum

In the corner room you can settle down to watch a film about the museum’s founder, the tobacco manufacturer and art collector Heinrich Hirschsprung. Created especially for the Hirschsprung Collection, the film is produced by JJ Film and sponsored by Bikubefonden. The film is 20 minutes long and is shown throughout the museum’s opening hours.