Today is a very special day for us as we mark Sigmund Freud’s 161st Birthday.
We’ll be celebrating at the Museum with an afternoon of tours, games and cake.
At 12pm (BST) we’ll be broadcasting LIVE from Freud’s study via Periscope!
Pioneer of Psychoanalysis
Born on 6 May 1856, Freud is remembered today as the founder of psychoanalysis, a revolutionary theory of how the mind works and a method of treating people in mental distress.
Freud was the first doctor to recognise the value of listening to patients in their own words.
He would invite his patients to lie on his couch and say whatever came to mind, without holding back thoughts or memories that seemed unpleasant, trivial or ridiculous.
Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic couch in his home at 20 Maresfield Gardens, London (now the Freud Museum)
A New Vision of Being Human
Freud’s work led him to some startling conclusions about human existence. His theories paint an unsettling picture of a mind divided against itself, governed by unruly instincts and driven to repeat destructive and self-sabotaging tendencies.
It is sometimes said that the Twentieth Century human being was born on Freud’s couch.
Perhaps fittingly, Freud’s work took place against a backdrop of enormous social and political upheaval. When the Nazis annexed Austria in 1938, he was forced to flee Vienna. He spent the last year of his life in London as a refugee.
Sigmund and Anna Freud on the Orient Express, 5 June 1938
Freud Today
Sigmund Freud’s library, collection and world-famous psychoanalytic couch can be found in his final home at 20 Maresfield Gardens, London (now the Freud Museum London)…
Sigmund Freud’s Blue Plaque outside the Freud Museum
…But psychoanalysis itself is far from being a museum piece.
Freud was one of the most influential and controversial thinkers of the 20th Century. What began on in Freud’s consulting room is now practiced by thousands of clinicians around the globe.
From Surrealist art to Freudian Slippers, psychoanalysis has permeated our collective sense of self.
Here at the Freud Museum, we foster engagement with Freud’s legacy in contemporary ideas, arts and culture through events, exhibitions and education.
We need your help
The Freud Museum London is facing major funding cuts.
Last year, friends from around the world rallied to our call for assistance – but we are still short of our £30,000 target.
To continue in our work, we need your help.
Please consider making a donation to help secure the future of the Museum.
