1894-1977 Ruth Weber was born into a wealthy family and mixed in the higher strata of Danish society. Exceptionally beautiful, she was married to Axel Kiær, whose brother-in-law was the artist Niels Hansen, one of Denmark’s most celebrated impressionist painters. Their home was a veritable gallery of modern art and Weber only turned to painting when one of Hansen’s paintings was removed leaving a void which she filled by painting directly onto the wall herself. The result was so astonishing, Hansen initially assumed it to be a joke and he was soon to play a significant role in encouraging her to continue and to organise exhibitions of her work. She was known to have suffered from severe depression and this, coupled with the obvious power of her work, lead Melanie Klein to write a psychoanalytical study about the artist considering the themes of depression and reparation An example of her work is featured at the Museum of National History at Frederiksborg. Literature: H Madsen: Paintings of Ruth Weber 1968
