Einar Jónsson Museum
Iceland's first art museum, in the sculptor's own house beside Hallgrímskirkja, with a free sculpture garden.
The museum goes back to 1909, when the sculptor Einar Jónsson offered his works to the Icelandic nation on condition that a building be raised to house them. Construction on the hill of Skólavörðuholt began in 1916, and the house, named Hnitbjörg after the rock stronghold of Norse myth, opened to the public on 24 June 1923. It was the first art museum in Iceland with premises of its own. Einar designed the massive, castle-like building himself and lived in the upper flat with his wife Anna until his death in 1954.
The collection holds more than three hundred works, among them plaster and bronze sculptures, drawings and paintings, most of them shown in the permanent display. Einar's subjects draw on Norse mythology, Icelandic folklore, Christian imagery and theosophical ideas, treated in a symbolist manner far removed from the classical training he received in Copenhagen. The couple's apartment survives with its original furnishings, and twenty-six bronze casts stand in the garden behind the house. The museum is administered by the National Gallery of Iceland.
Highlights
- Hnitbjörg, the fortress-like house designed by the sculptor himself
- Over 300 sculptures, drawings and paintings by Einar Jónsson
- Preserved apartment of Einar and Anna Jónsson
- Garden of 26 bronze casts, open free of charge all year
