The David Collection
| Davids Samling | |
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 The David Collection
Location within Denmark
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| Established | 1948 |
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| 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) |
| Founder | C.L. David |
| Director | Kjeld von Folsach |
| Owner | The C. L. David Foundation and Collection |
| Website | Official website |
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 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. 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.
The museum is located in a neo-classical building in 30 Kronprinsessegade in central Copenhagen, overlooking Rosenborg Castle Garden. 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.
The museum is built around the private collection of C. L. David (1878–1960), a barrister of the Danish Supreme Court. The building in Kronprinsessegade 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.
On 12 December 1945, the collection, along with the building which houses it, became the independent institution, the C. L. David Foundation and Collection, and the museum opened in 1948. Over the years, the exhibition space was continuously expanded and rebuilt as the collections grew. In 1960, on the death of its founder, the Foundation became the sole heir to his fortune.
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