Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

Description:

• A lot of Americans think this museum for some odd reason was named for the state of Louisiana. Actually the museum's name came from the fact that the first owner of the estate here, Alexander Brun, had three wives. Bizarrely, each of his spouses was named Louise. In a spacious old park with a panoramic view across Øresund to Sweden, this is one of the greatest museums of modern art in the Nordic world. The modest collection of Scandinavian art that opened here in 1954 has grown and grown with bequests and donations, and future architects have added more galleries onto the existing 19th-century villa.

  The museum opened with works by the COBRA group, the name of artists from the cities of COpenhagen, BRussels, and Amsterdam. These original works are displayed along with some of the finest paintings and sculpture by international artists such as Calder, Dubuffet, Max Ernst, Giacometti, Picasso, and Warhol.

  The museum has one of the largest exhibition spaces in Europe, and major exhibitions of contemporary art are staged here. There is also an extensive program of concerts, lectures, films, discussions with authors, and public debates. Children find their own haven here, especially at the Børnehuset, or children's house, and the Søhaven, or Sea Garden. The museum's cafe is on a terrace with Alexander Calder's sculptures.

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Very Highly Recommended 2010