In 1897 a number of artists broke their ties with Künstlerhaus, the association and gallery of Vienna's art establishmentwhich they considered intolerably conservative, seceded and formed a new art association with the name of Secession and the motto, "To the Age, its Art. To Art, its Freedom."

In 1898, Joseph Maria Olbrich, a student of Otto Wagner, erected an Art Nouveau gallery building for the new association.In 1985-86, the cupola of the Secession was gilded anew and the Secession was renovated and adapted under the guidance of Adolf Krischanitz.The 112-foot Beethoven Frieze, a virtuoso pictorial interpretation of the 9th Symphony, created by Gustav Klimt for the Beethoven Exhibition