Although the artists of the colony worked in diverse styles, they were united by a shared fascination with the landscape, the light, the “exotic locals,” and the opportunity to escape city life. The artists’ colony flourished from 1879 until the 1960s.

Alongside its founder, Laurits Tuxen—who played a major role in 19th-century art society, was associated with the Skagen painters, and brought his students from Kunstnernes Frie Studieskoler to Nymindegab—the community included Johannes Larsen, renowned for his bird paintings and as a key figure among the Funen (Faaborg) painters. Other artists, including Maria Thymann, Marie Sandholt, Carl Trier Aagaard, Christen Lyngbo, Oscar Matthiesen, and Sofie Holten, visited the colony for shorter or longer periods.

The Nymindegab painters are less well known than the Skagen painters or the Funen painters, yet their work has much to offer. During his first stay in 1879, Laurits Tuxen wrote to his parents that there was a poetry of the place—and that no painter had ever been to Nymindegab before.