Two of Iceland’s most visited sites are the Hallgrimskirkja, the national church of Iceland, and, standing in front of the church, the famous Leifur Eiríksson statue gifted from America. Tourists flock daily to take photos of these two cultural treasures. But often overlooked is a rather unusual, castle-like building just a few steps across the street, the Einar Jónsson Museum–the very first art museum in Iceland and featuring the powerful artwork of one of Iceland’s premiere sculptors.
The Einar Jónsson Museum opened its doors in 1923. The building was built specifically for Einar Jónsson, Iceland’s only professional sculptor at that time. Einar was born in 1874 and even at a young age his artistic talents were hard to miss. With limited artistic resources available in tiny Iceland, he moved to Denmark and studied at the Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen for several years. In 1902, the Althing (Icelandic Parliament), proud of their talented native son, provided a grant for him to study in Rome before he returned to Denmark to continue furthering his craft. As his worldwide reputation grew, he spent two years in the United States, creating in Philadelphia a statue of Thorfinnur (Þorfinnur) Karlsefni, an Icelandic explorer who helped to found a Viking North American settlement around the year 1010 (indisputably, long before Christopher Columbus). After spending almost twenty long years abroad, Einar and his Danish bride Anne Marie Jørgensen came home to Iceland in 1920, where they lived until Einar’s death at the age of 80 in 1954. To encourage Einar’s homecoming, the Althing provided the couple with a building to house his works, a studio in which to create future works, and a top floor apartment for them to reside.
Today, Einar’s Reykjavik home and studio still stand, the backyard of the museum filled with 26 of his works displayed for public viewing, free of charge - a hidden gem available to all. Unsurprisingly, other of his sculptures are displayed throughout the city as well as in the United States and Canada.
In Pennsylvania, Einar’s sculpture of Thorfinnur (Þorfinnur) Karlsefni* stood just two years shy of a century when, in 2018, the statue was sadly toppled during political unrest in the United States. Thorfinnur Karlsefni was born in Iceland circa 975 and married Guðríður Þorbjarnardóttir, a relation of Leif Eiríksson; together, they traveled to the Americas. Guðríður would give birth to a son believed to be the first European child born in the Americas, Snorri Thorfinnsson (Þorfinnsson). You can read more about their adventure in Nancy Marie Brown's two books, The Far Traveler (nonfiction) and The Saga of Gudrid the Far Traveler (fiction).
Einar Jonsson’s statue in Canada depicts Jón Sigurðsson, a prominent leader in Iceland’s fight for independence from Denmark and whose birthday was the chosen date of Iceland’s Independence Day (June 17th). The Canadian statue is a duplicate of the one that stands in Reykjavík at Austurvöllur Square facing the Alþinghúsið (The Parliament House); the Icelandic immigrant community in Manitoba purchased a casting of this statue and placed it on the Manitoba Legislative Building grounds in Winnipeg.
In Reykjavík, admirers of Einar’s works can roam the city and discover many of his displayed pieces. Grab a coffee or hot chocolate to go, put on some sneakers, and enjoy the journey of Einar Jonsson´s work. For a self-guided walking tour click here.
*There is a duplicate of a Thorfinnur (Þorfinnur) Karlsefni statue in Iceland. It is not on the walking tour. The statue now resides next to Laugarás movie theater on Kleppsveg 62, Reykjavik.
One decision away from being Americans - they chose home and returned to Iceland.
In a long interview in 1965, Anna, Einars‘s wife, tells about their stay in America: „The night before we stepped on board the ship and sailed to America [1916], we went to the old catholic church in Landakot and were married. […] We lived in America for two and a half years, for the most in Philadelphia and New York. Einar got plenty of work. […] We met a lot of wonderful and fun people there. We felt good in those years, and maybe it is the best we felt in our days. Einar probably could have had a good future in America, if he had wanted to settle there. He was offered good jobs, if he had wanted to stay longer, but he wanted to go home. It would have been difficult anyway with everything going on at home; the building of the museum and the sculptures waiting in Denmark to be transported to Iceland.“ (*Listasafn Einars Jónssonar / The Einar Jónsson Sculpture Museum)