Davids Samling | |
Established | 1948 |
---|---|
Location | Copenhagen, Denmark |
Coordinates | 55°41′3.2″N 12°34′56.4″E / 55.684222°N 12.582333°E |
Type | Art museum |
Visitors | 44.258 (2014)[1] |
Founder | C.L. David |
Director | Kjeld von Folsach |
Owner | The C. L. David Foundation and Collection |
Website | www |
The David Collection (Danish: Davids Samling) is a museum of fine and applied art in Copenhagen, Denmark, built around the private collections of lawyer, businessman and art collector C. L. David. The building at Kronprinsessegade 30 which houses the museum used to be the private home of the founder and was originally bought in 1810 by his great-grandfather, C. N. David, but sold again in 1830. In 1917 it was re-acquired by C. L. David, who took up residence in it but also made his collection available to the public at the upper floors of the building. Admission is free.
The museum is particularly noted for its collection of Islamic art from the 8th to the 19th century, which is one of the largest in Northern Europe.[2] The museum also holds fine and applied art from Europe in the 18th century and the Danish Golden Age as well as a small collection of Danish early modern art. All the works of art in the collection of Danish early modern art were acquired by C. L. David himself.
From 2006 to 2009 the collection was closed to the public while the premises underwent a major refurbishment and rearrangement. When it reopened on 15 May 2009, it was described as "the most exclusive museum in Denmark" in national Danish newspaper Politiken.[3]