Elna Vilhelmine Fonnesbech-Sandberg née Riegels (22 March 1892 – 6 March 1994) was a successful Danish

art collector A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individual ...

who later became a painter herself. By the late 1929s, she had put together an extensive collection of Danish

Modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

and

Expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

works but had to sell them when struck by austerity during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Shortly afterwards, encouraged by her close friend

Asger Jorn Asger Oluf Jorn (3 March 1914 – 1 May 1973) was a Danish painter, sculptor, ceramic artist, and author. He was a founding member of the avant-garde movement COBRA and the Situationist International. The largest collection of Jorn's works� ...

, she embarked on a new collection of the abstract works of young Danish painters who became members of the

CoBrA COBRA or Cobra, often stylized as CoBrA, was a European avant-garde art group active from 1948 to 1951. The name was coined in 1948 by Christian Dotremont from the initials of the members' home countries' capital cities: Copenhagen (Co), Brussels ...

movement. She exhibited them in her home in

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the region of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of less tha ...

which developed into a popular meeting place for those interested in the latest trends. In 1947, Fonnesbech-Sandberg became a painter herself, joining the group of abstract painters known as

Spiralen The ''Drammen Spiral'' ( Norwegian : ''Spiralen Drammen'') is a tunnel near Drammen, Norway. Tunnel characteristics The tunnel is long and in the shape of a helix, with six rising circles, in the same style as a multi-storey parking lot. Each ...

Early life and family

Born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

on 22 March 1892, Elna Vilhelmine Riegels was the daughter of the businessman Jacob Frederik Vilhelm Riegels (1863–1943) and his wife Mathilde Marie Pouline née Hansson (1862–1932). Raised in a well-to-do family in

, she studied history of art at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

. In August 1918, she married the tea merchant Torben Fonnesbech-Sandberg (1891–1974) with whom she had a son Ib (1920). The marriage was dissolved in 1945. In June 1949, she married the painter Niels Jensen (born 1912).

Career

As a child, Elna Riegels had shown interest in collecting paintings, especially Japanese reproductions but lost interest when she realized she could not afford to buy the originals. After studying history of art, she turned her attention to modern art and began to collect paintings by a range of Danish artists including ,

Harald Giersing Harald Giersing (24 April 1881 – 15 January 1927) was a Danish painter. He was instrumental in developing the classic modernism movement in Denmark around 1910-1920. He is remembered as one of Denmark's most important 20th-century artists both f ...

Karl Isakson Karl Oscar Isakson (16 January 1878, in Stockholm – 19 February 1922) was a Swedish painter who spent much of his professional life in Denmark where he is considered to be one of the fathers of Modernism. He had close associations with the Bor ...

, Søren Hjorth Nielsen,

Niels Lergaard Niels Lergaard (10 February 1893-25 July 1982) was a Danish painter. He was a member of the Bornholm school of painters. Biography Lergaard was born at Vorup in Randers, Denmark. He first trained at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in ...

Vilhelm Lundstrøm Vilhelm Lundstrøm (26 May 1893 – 9 May 1950) was a Danish modernist painter. He was a central figure in early Danish experimental art and introduced French cubism to Denmark. Biography Vilhelm Henry Lundstrøm was born in Copenhagen, Den ...

Olaf Rude Olaf Rude (26 April 1886 – 17 June 1957) was a Danish painter. He was a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Art from 1953 to 1956. He is remembered in particular for his paintings of oak trees at Skejten on Lolland, two of which can be se ...

William Scharff Niels William Scharff (30 October 1886 – 20 September 1959) was a Danish painter, one of the leading proponents of Cubism in Denmark. Early life After training as a painter at Copenhagen's Technical School, Scharff attended Kristian Zahrtmann ...

Jens Søndergaard Jens Søndergaard (October 4, 1895 – May 21, 1957) was a Danish expressionist painter. He specialised in strongly coloured landscapes depicting his feelings for the power of nature and the sea. Søndergaard won both national and international ...

and

Edvard Weie Viggo Thorvald Edvard Weie (18 November 1879 - 9 April 1943) was a Danish Modern art, Modernist painter. He was a recipient of Eckersberg Medal in 1925. He died during 1943 in Frederiksberg. Biography Weie was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. Hi ...

. After her husband's tea business began to suffer from the effects of

World War 2 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilisin ...

, in 1940, Fonnesbech-Sandberg was forced into selling her collection in order to support the family's well-being. Soon afterwards she developed a close relationship with Asger Jorn and began making a new and even more impressive collection, not only of Jorn's paintings but of those of his friends who included Else Alfelt,

Ejler Bille Ejler Bille (6 March 1910 – 1 May 2004) was a Danish artist. Biography Ejler Bille was born in Odder, Denmark. He was the son of Torben Holger Bille and Anna Kirstine Lysabild Jensen. Bille graduated from Birkerød State School in 1930, and then ...

Egill Jacobsen Egill Jacobsen (16 December 1910 – 21 April 1998) was a Danish painter who became a professor at the Royal Danish Academy. Biography Born in Copenhagen, Jacobsen studied painting at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts under Kræsten Iversen ...

and

Carl-Henning Pedersen Carl-Henning Pedersen (23 September 1913 – 20 February 2007) was a Danish painter and a key member of the COBRA movement. He was known as the "Scandinavian Chagall", and was one of the leading Danish artists of the second half of the 20 ...

. They became known as the Danish members of the CoBrA movement. As a painter in her own right, Fonnesbech-Sandberg was inspired by her CoBrA friends. She later developed an ornamental style using colour to achieve an enamel effect. Elna Fonnesbech-Sandberg died on 6 March 1994 in

Gentofte Gentofte () is a district of Gentofte Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Major landmarks include Gentofte Town Hall, Gentofte Hospital and Gentofte Church. Gentofte Lake with surrounding parkland and nature reserves form ...

. In 2023 her work was included in the exhibition '' Action, Gesture, Paint: Women Artists and Global Abstraction 1940-1970'' at the

Whitechapel Gallery The Whitechapel Gallery is a public art gallery in Whitechapel on the north side of Whitechapel High Street, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The original building, designed by Charles Harrison Townsend, opened in 1901 as one of the fi ...

in London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fonnesbech-Sandberg, Elna 1892 births 1994 deaths Artists from Copenhagen Danish art collectors Women art collectors 20th-century Danish painters 20th-century Danish women artists Danish abstract painters University of Copenhagen alumni Danish women centenarians