during those years, he focused on classical architecture, obtaining a doctorate in philosophy. he was also interested in contemporary art in denmark and wrote ""gennembruddet i 70'erne, betragtninger i anledning af raadhusudstillingen og den hirschsprungske samling"" ("the breakthrough in the 70s, reflections on the occasion of raadhusudstillingen and the hirschsprung collection" in art, iv, 1902–03). in 1915, he was hired to be the curator of the danish national museum of art. as his main interest began to shift more towards contemporary art, he started to advocate for it through making monographs and working on the biographies of l. a. ring, gerhard henning and kai nielsen.