Rhododendron bushes in the garden of Dagminne, Skagen. Signed and dated L.T. Juni 15. Oil on canvas. 63×84 cm.

Rhododendron bushes in the garden of Dagminne, Skagen. Signed and dated L.T. Juni 15. Oil on canvas. 63×84 cm. Lise Svanholm, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of Laurits Tuxen, 1990, no. 1002. In 1901, Laurits Tuxen married Frederikke Treschow (1856–1946), and together they bought the old post office in Vesterby, the outermost house in the western part of Skagen, in order to live there in the summer. They named the house Villa Dagminne, and here the Tuxen family spent many happy summers with their girls Yvonne and Nina. Tuxen mentions in his memoirs that the Danish-born Queen Alexandra of England (1844–1925) recommended him to plant rhododendrons in his garden in Skagen. The bushes were ordered from a Danish gardener in Ghent. According to Tuxen, this was the first time someone tried to grow rhododendrons in Skagen. The garden at Dagminne became famous for its beautiful rhododendron bushes, and to this day it is a magnificent sight when they are in bloom. Tuxen himself painted the colourful bushes several times, i. a. The Art Museums of Skagen have the painting ”Rhododendron i Dagminnes have. Skagen” (Rhododendrons in the garden of Dagminne, Skagen" (Inv. No. SKM258), which shows Frederikke pruning a bush. In the present painting, it is presumalby also Frederikke, who is seen behind the bushes with a scarf around her head in the process of picking or pruning the flowers.