Hedvig Jacobine Henriette Collin (1880–1964) was a Danish painter,

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

and writer. She created both portraits and landscapes but she is remembered above all for illustrating

books for children Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

. In addition to her illustrations in many Danish publications for young people, she wrote and illustrated a number of works in English, including ''Two Viking Boys'' (1949) and ''Young Hans Christian Andersen'' (1955).

Biography

Born on 27 May 1880 in

Nakskov Nakskov is a town in south Denmark. It is situated in Lolland municipality in Region Sjælland on the western coast of the island of Lolland. The town has a population of 12,495 (1 January 2022). To the west is Nakskov Fjord, an inlet from the La ...

, Hedvig Jacobine Henriette Collin was the daughter of the photographer (1849–1922) and Ottilia Frederikke Christiane née Bloch (1850–1935). She attended Copenhagen's Arts and Crafts School for Women before becoming a student in the women's section of the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi - Billedkunst Skolerne) has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Dani ...

where she befriended

Karen Blixen Baroness Karen Christenze von Blixen-Finecke (born Dinesen; 17 April 1885 – 7 September 1962) was a Danish author who wrote works in Danish and English. She is also known under her pen names Isak Dinesen, used in English-speaking countrie ...

. After graduating from the Academy's decoration school in 1909, she furthered her education at the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...

in Paris and at the

Kunstgewerbeschule A Kunstgewerbeschule (English: ''School of Arts and Crafts'' or S''chool of Applied Arts'') was a type of vocational arts school that existed in German-speaking countries from the mid-19th century. The term Werkkunstschule was also used for thes ...

in Berlin. Taking a general interest in culture and design, during her first trip to Paris in 1904, Collin wrote articles for the magazine '' Vore Damer'', illustrated with her own photographs. In the 1920s and 1930s, she travelled to Italy, Greece, Poland, Germany and England. She spent the years of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in the United States. In addition to exhibiting her works in Denmark, she participated in the Salon des humoristes in Paris (c.1913). At the end of the war, she held a solo exhibition of her books, illustrations and paintings in Reykjavik. Collin is remembered above all for her illustrations. From 1916 to 1922, together with her colleagues, she published the illustrated song books for children in the ''Vore Børnesange'' series. Other illustrated works included the humorous geography of Denmark titled ''Bibi'' (1929) and books she both wrote and illustrated for the American market such as ''Two Viking Boys'' (1949) and ''Young Hans Christian Andersen'' (1955). She was also active designing a multitude of postcards from 1907 to 1931. Hedvig Collin died in

Lyngby Kongens Lyngby (, Danish for "the King's Heather Town"; short form Lyngby) is the seat and commercial centre of Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Lyngby Hovedgade is a busy shopping street and the site of ...

on 2 April 1964 and is buried in

Søllerød Søllerød is a suburban district of Rudersdal Municipality in the northern outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. The original village, one of the oldest in the area, is perched on Søllerød Hill on the south side of Søllerød Lake. It merged with ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collin, Hedvig 1880 births 1964 deaths People from Nakskov 20th-century Danish painters 20th-century Danish women artists 20th-century Danish artists Danish children's writers Danish women writers 20th-century Danish illustrators Danish women illustrators Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Hedvig