Based in the Netherlands between Amsterdam and the North Sea, painter Irene de Klerk Wolters left a career in law more than two decades ago to pursue painting. The sea remains a source of inspiration in her work. Today, she shares her favorite museums across Denmark and the Netherlands, chosen as much for their setting and architecture as for the collections they house.

Copenhagen, Denmark (Louisiana Museum of Modern Art & Karen Blixen Museum)

For many years, we had an annual pass to Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, one of Scandinavia's leading museums of modern and contemporary art.

Louisiana is often considered one of the most beautiful museums in the world, thanks to its harmonious architecture and extraordinary setting. The sculpture garden, overlooking the Øresund toward Sweden, takes my breath away no matter how many times I visit.

Another museum that is especially close to my heart is the Karen Blixen Museum. Karen Blixen was a Danish author, best known for her memoir Out of Africa. The museum was once her private home, and walking through the house and gardens, you can still feel her presence. Her belongings, collected during her years in Africa, remain alongside fresh flowers gathered daily from the garden—a tradition the museum continues today.

The romance of her writing while looking out across the water toward Sweden always touches my heart. As does her beautiful garden, which my mother, an avid gardener, always wants to visit whenever she visits from the Netherlands.

The Netherlands (Voorlinden museum in Wassenaar & Kröller Müller museum in Otterlo)

Where art, nature, and architecture are beautifully combined.

The internationally renowned Dutch landscape designer Piet Oudolf designed the gardens surrounding Voorlinden Museum.