Danish painter, studied at Kongelige Akademi for de Skønne Kunster, Copenhagen.   Settled in Skagen where he executed most of his paintings.   Most noted for his ability to group large numbers of figures and treat each figure as a portrait in itself.   His rather lack-lustre approach to color improved remarkably following a visit to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna (1882) where he was most impressed and influenced by the Dutch Old Masters.   His wife Anna and daughter Helgar are also painters and their home in Skagen is now a museum.