Harriet Backer (1845-1932) est une artiste peintre norvégienne, spécialisée dans les scènes d'intérieurs impressionnistes.
Backer was one of four daughters born to an affluent family at Holmestrand in Vestfold, Norway. Her parents were Nils Backer (1815-1877) and Sofie Smith Petersen (1819-1882), and she was the aunt of the painter Astri Welhaven Heiberg (1881-1967). Her father was a shipping merchant and her mother was from a wealthy family. Her family moved to Christiania (Oslo) in 1856. She attended Wilhemine Autentrieth Girl's School (1857-1860) and Hartvig Nissen School (1863). At 12, she first took lessons in drawing and painting, notably with Joachim Calmeyer (1857). She studied with art instructor Johan Fredrik Eckersberg (1861-65), in Berlin with Alphons Holländer (1866-1867), with artist Christen Brun (1867-1868) and attended the painting school of Knud Bergslien (1871-74). Later, she was a student of Eilif Peterssen in Munich (1874-1878). She was a student of Léon Bonnat and Jean-Léon Gérôme in Paris (1878-1780). Additionally she traveled extensively as a companion to her sister, noted concert pianist Agathe Backer Grøndahl (1847-1907), on her concert tours throughout Europe. She took further lessons in the course of these trips. From 1880 to 1888, she stayed in Paris where she shared a studio with fellow Norwegian artist, Kitty Lange Kielland. She was also associated with Salon Marie Trélat in Paris.
Sources :
Le siècle d’or de la peinture danoise - Gallimard
Dictionnaire universel de la peinture - Le Robert
Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
Jean Mineraud - Les dessous du visible