Still Life

Kristín Jónsdóttir was born at Arnarnes in Eyjafjörður in 1888 and became the first Icelandic woman to graduate from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen in 1916. During her five years there three other Icelandic artists studied at the Academy. They were Jóhannes S. Kjarval, Guðmundur Thorsteinsson (Muggur) and Júlíana Sveinsdóttir, who, along with Kristín, became the first Icelandic woman to become a professional artist. In 1924 Kristín moved back to Iceland with her husband Valtýr Stefánsson and their daughter Helga. She travelled around Iceland to paint the Icelandic nature and interesting photographs have been preserved of Kristín painting outdoors, for example at Gullfoss and in Akureyri. But her still life paintings are even more unique than her landscapes, specifically due to their colours and mood, light and form composition. Her family life, which included two young daughters and a household, eventually led to her painting indoors, particularly still life and flower paintings, her best known subjects. Kristín held numerous solo exhibitions during her career and participated in a number of group exhibitions. She passed away in Reykjavík in 1959.