The organization was initiated by the painter
Johan Rohde (1856–1935) and included several founding members:
Jens Ferdinand Willumsen,
Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen,
Vilhelm Hammershøi,
Johanne Cathrine Krebs, the couple
Harald and
Agnes Slott-Møller,
Christian Mourier-Petersen and
Malthe Engelsted. The first exhibition in 1891 presented 100 works by 18 artists, including
Peder Severin Krøyer,
Julius Paulsen and
Kristian Zahrtmann, who were among Denmark's greatest painters of the period. The first exhibition was hosted by
Kleis' Kunsthandel, a combined art gallery and gilder's business situated at
Vesterbrogade 58 in
Vesterbro. It opened on 27 March 1891. In 1893,
Thorvald Bindesbøll designed a wooden pavilion for the association on a plot near
City Hall Square in the very centre of
Copenhagen. That year, international painters such as
Paul Gauguin and
Vincent van Gogh exhibited works there. In 1898, Den Frie Udstilling moved to Aborreparken where a new pavilion inspired by Egyptian and Greek temples was designed by Willumsen who added an octagonal extension in 1905. As today, the facade was decorated with a relief of
Pegasus, a symbol of freely inspired art drawn from Greek mythology. In 1913, the building was moved to its present location on
Oslo Plads, maintaining sections of Willumsen's work. In 1987, Den Frie Udstilling became a
listed building. Although comprehensive restoration work was completed in 2006, further improvements reflecting Williumsen's original designs will be completed in 2014. There will also be significant extensions. ==Current exhibitions==