Our art museum

Our art museum

The National Gallery of Iceland was founded in Copenhagen in 1884 by Björn Bjarnason, later a member of the Althing. In 1916, the museum was transformed into a department within the National Museum of Iceland. In 1950, the museum’s first director, Selma Jónsdóttir, was hired. The museum was given a place on the top floor of a new building for the National and Art Museum of Iceland at Suðurgata. The museum moved to its current location in 1988, at Fríkirkjuvegur 7, by Tjörnin (The Pond).

The National Gallery of Iceland’s exhibitions are; Muggur – Guðmundur Thorsteinsson and the unique world of art that the artist created. Treasures of a Nation, where key works owned by the museum are displayed in the Culture House at Hverfisgata. Hello, Space, where you can see the wonderful world of space with the help of works of art owned by the National Gallery of Iceland.

The director of the National Gallery of Iceland is Harpa Þórsdóttir, the fifth director of the museum and the third woman to hold this position.

The National Gallery of Iceland is in the middle of the picture, to the church’s right. The building was designed by Guðjón Samúelsson as an icehouse in 1916. The National Gallery of Iceland has been housed there since 1988.
When I was taking the photograph of the National Gallery of Iceland, I saw this picture. I moved my perspective to the northeast and then got this moment from Reykjavík City Hall and the Cathedral at dawn. Same place, same time, different picture.

 

Reykjavík 19/11/2021 08:59 & 09:00 – A7R III : FE 1.4/85mm GM

Ljósmyndir og texti : Páll Stefánsson