Anna Ancher (née Brøndum) was born in Skagen to parents who owned Brøndums Hotel, an inn that became a gathering point for artists travelling to Skagen. Here, she met the Danish painter and art historian Karl Madsen (1855–1938) and the Danish painter Michael Ancher (1849–1927), who encouraged A. Ancher to pursue a career as an artist.

In 1875 she travelled to Copenhagen to receive artistic training from the Danish painter Vilhelm Kyhn (1819–1903) at his private painting and drawing school for women. She studied there for three winters until 1878, after which she returned to Skagen. In the same year, she exhibited at Charlottenborg for the first time, and in 1880 she debuted at the Spring Exhibition at Charlottenborg with the painting En gammel mand, der skaerer pinde [An Old Man Whittling Sticks, 1880], exhibiting there throughout her life. In the same year, A. Ancher married M. Ancher. In 1881 she exhibited abroad for the first of many times, this time in Gothenburg at the Nordiska konstutställningen [The Nordic Art Exhibition]. In 1882 A. and M. Ancher travelled to Vienna, where she studied the 17th-century Dutch interior paintings that later influenced her motifs, as seen in Pigen i køkkenet [Girl in the Kitchen, 1883/1886]. In 1885 they travelled to Paris, Belgium and the Netherlands. In Paris, they saw artworks of French Impressionism, including an exhibition on Claude Monet (1840–1926) at the premises of art dealer Georges Petit. In 1889 they returned again to Paris, where A. Ancher received artistic training from the French painter Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (1824–1898) at Alfred Philippe Roll’s (1846-1919) Art School. In the years following her time in Paris, A. Ancher worked on larger figure compositions, such as En begravelse [A Funeral, 1891], which was purchased in the same year by the Royal Collection of Paintings, part of SMK – the National Gallery of Denmark.

She participated in the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893, and in 1900 she exhibited Solskin i den blå stue [Sunshine in the Blue Room, 1891] at the Exposition Universelle, for which she received a silver medal. In 1903, she was awarded the second degree of the Annual Academy Medal, today called the Eckersberg Medal, for the painting Kyhn i sit atelier[Kyhn in his Studio, 1903], depicting her former teacher. In the following year, she received the medal of the first degree, making her part of Akademiets Plenarforsamling [The Plenary of the Academy]. In 1908, the Art Museum of Skagen was established in the dining room of Brøndums Hotel, with A. Ancher’s works acquired for its collection. In 1926, she became a board member of the museum.

In 1913 A. Ancher became the first woman to receive the Ingenio et arti medal, a Danish honour. She was a member of Kvindelige Kunstneres Samfund [The Danish Women’s Artist Association] and was appointed an honorary member in 1921. A. Ancher died in 1935. In the same year, a retrospective exhibition in her memory was held at Charlottenborg.