Otto Benzon

Danish pharmacist, manufacturer and author Otto Benzon (1856-1927) was a friend of several of the Skagen painters, and together with his brother Alfred he had a large circle of friends among artists, authors and other cultural figures. Benzon visited Skagen for the first time in December 1888, when Norwegian painter Christian Krohg painted his portrait for the portrait frieze in the Brøndum's dining room. Benzon went to Skagen because he had problems at home and needed to get away for a time, as the Finnish painter Hanna Rönnberg has described in her memoirs Konstnärsliv i slutet av 1880-talet from 1931. He returned to Skagen in 1892 and 1907.