Wilhelm Freddie was born Christian Frederik Wilhelm Carlsen in 1909 in Copenhagen. He was a Danish painter, sculptor and filmmaker. The artist was mostly self-taught, but did apprentice in Copenhagen from 1929–1930 as a sculptor at the Technical School, and at the Graphic School under Aksel Jørgensen.

     In 1930 he introduced surrealism in Denmark with the painting, "Freedom, Equality and Brotherhood, F. at KE", and has since been considered the most heretical and prominent representative in Denmark.

     Initially working along a somewhat abstract line, he soon turned towards a more realistic surrealism, only to later return to abstract art. Some of his works were highly controversial and considered pornographic at their time, resulting in confiscation of the works and his imprisonment. Freddie’s contributions to the 1936 surrealist exhibition in London, the painting "Psychophotographic Phenomenon: The Fallen of the World War", did not make it past customs due to its perceived pornographic content. That same year in Denmark, his object "Sexparalysappeal" (1936) was confiscated for similar reasons.

     Freddie also employed his erotomania against the threat of burgeoning Nazism. His painting "Meditation on the Anti-Nazi Love" from 1936 displayed a contorted and naked couple who embrace in the lower right hand corner, while a Hitler-like figure stands pompously far off in the background of the vast surrounding landscape. Another work, "The Day D" is one of several masterly works painted during World War II – images that presented contemporary events as nightmarish visions. Hostilities toward Freddie escalated following the German invasion of Denmark and eventually led to  threats on Freddie’s life. In 1944 he had to escape to Sweden with his wife and son.

     Freddie was the only Nordic artists that obtained international recognition as a Surrealist. During the 1930s and 1940s he participated in some of the major Surrealist exhibitions in Europe and America along with founders and leading members of the movement.

     In 1949 and 1950 Freddie directed two short films, "The Definite Rejection of a Request for a Kiss" (Det definitive afslag på anmodningen om et kys) and "Eaten Horizons" (Spiste horisonter). The films intended to highlight his surrealist ideas about magic, myth, and art. They contained bewildering images such as, "A woman’s tongue cavorts against the backdrop of a painted landscape. A hand draws a mysterious symbol in a puddle of blood, before two men proceed to dig into the insides of a naked woman. A loaf of bread appears, disappears, and then splits open in half."

    From the 1960s onward the artist turned toward a geometric abstraction form of art and created numerous color lithographs. In 1973 Freddie was appointed professor at the School of Fine Arts in Copenhagen.

     Works by the artist were part of the following international exhibitions:

• In 1935 at the International Cubist-Surrealist exhibition at Den Frie (the Free Exhibition) in Copenhagen, along with René Magritte, Man Ray, Hans Arp, Joan Miró, Salvador Dalí, and Yves Tanguy

• In 1936 at London International Surrealist Exhibition that included Hans Arp, Victor Brauner, Salvador Dalí, Alberto Giacometti, Paul Klee, Joan Miró, and Pablo Picasso

• In 1936 at the Museum of Modern (MOMA) exhibition, "Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism," that also included works by Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Paul Klee and Marc Chagall

• In 1938 at Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme, Galerie Beaux-Arts in Paris that included Andre Breton, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp and Man Ray

• In 1947 Exposition Internationale de Surréalisme in Paris along with Andre Breton, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst and Victor Brauner

• The 1949 exhibition Surrealistisk manifestation (Surrealist Manifestation) at Expo Aleby in Stockholm that also included Max Ernst, Victor Brauner and Jean Arp

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     The artist is represented in these public institutions:

• National Gallery of Denmark

• Museum Sonderjytland in Denmark

• Silkeborg Museum in Denmark

• The Tate Modern

• Centre Pompidou

• Art Institute of Chicago

• Museu Coleção Berardo in Lisbon

• The Städel Museum in Frankfurt

• AROS - Aarhus Art Museum

• BRANDTS - (Painting) Museum of Art & Visual Culture

• Esbjerg Art Museum

• Fuglsang Art Museum

• HEART Herning Museum of Contemporary Art

• The Kastrupgård collection

• ARTS Museum of Modern Art Aalborg

• Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

• Museum Jorn

• Salling Museum (Skive Museum)

• Museum Sønderjylland (Kunstmuseet i Tønder)

• Randers Art Museum

• Skovgaard Museum

• Vejlemuseerne (The Guide) Museums of Art

• Vendsyssel Art Museum