Johanne Cathrine Krebs


Johanne Cathrine Krebs was a Danish painter and women's rights activist. She was known for her portrait painting. She was active in establishing the women's department of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.

Biography

Krebs was born in Byrum, Denmark. Her father was friends with the painters P. C. Skovgaard and Johan Thomas Lundbye sparking her interest in painting. She became a student of P.C. Skovgaard from 1869 and 1871. At that time she was unable to enroll in the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts .
In early 1888 Krebs wrote an article for the Danish newspaper Politiken, stating that the existing, private Danish Women's Society's School for Women was not a substitute for admitting women to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.
By late 1888 the Art Academy's Art School for Women opened, allowing women access to instruction at the Academy. She and Augusta Dohlmann were considered to have been the leaders in this movement. From 1888-1908, she held the position as the school's inspectorate.
From 1880 through 1895, Krebs exhibited at the Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition. From 1891 through 1924 she exhibited at the Free Exhibition of which she was a co-founder.
Krebs exhibited her work at the Palace of Fine Arts at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, and in 1900 at the Exposition Universelle, where she received a bronze medal.
She died in Copenhagen on 1 April 1924.