Interesting Icelander for October 2025: Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval
- Alfreda Erickson Duffy
- 5 hours ago
- 7 min read
By Alfreda Erickson Duffy
Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval, known simply as Kjarval, (I250761), was a prolific painter considered a modernist and one of Iceland’s most important artists.
In his later years, he became quite ill, unable to paint any longer, nor look after himself. The city packed up his studio and put him up in Hotel Borg until he was transferred to the National Hospital in 1968. He was committed to the psychiatric ward on the 29th of January 1972, where he passed away a few months later, leaving behind thousands of drawings and paintings as a gift to the city that was not only of enormous financial value, but a true legacy.
The Hotel Holt in Reykjavík, also known as The Art Hotel, was my first introduction to this artist back in 2016 while on the Snorri Plus tour. It is a museum within a hotel, containing many works of famous artists… painters, sculptors, including many of Kjarval’s sketches as well as some of his paintings. His works are located on the ground floor.
The hotel owner started off his career as a delivery boy who used to bring food to the artist. They became and remained friends for life. The walls of the hotel’s bar display Kjarval’s multitude of sketches. According to gossip, people were drawn by him for the price of a drink. And as a friend of the owner, he must have visited the bar frequently.
To view these amazing works of art cost us the price of a glass of wine. We sat in the left-hand corner and sipped slowly as we soaked up the ambience of that lounge. Then we slowly toured the dining and reception area to view the various paintings on leaving. Even Happy Hour prices can be expensive in Iceland, but it was worth every “isk”.
Kjarval, later adopted, was born into poverty on the 15th of October 1885 on a farm named Efri-Ey (Hól) Meðalland in the parish of Langholtssókn, which is in the municipality of Leiðvallarhreppur, in the province/state of V-Skaftafellssýsla. Close to where my amma Halldora came from. The census at that time shows him living on this farm until 1890, which could be the year of his adoption. As a young man, he was always sketching or painting but did find work as a fisher. Ásgrimur Jónsson, acknowledged as the father of painting in Iceland, must have recognized his talent because he took him under his wing and showed him the basics.
By the time he was a young man of 26 years, some people became aware of his secret aspirations: his dream to visit London, England. In 1911, members of the Reykjavík Youth Association took it upon themselves to help him realize that dream. They held a contest with one of his paintings as the main prize. His wish came true, all the money raised went to his travel fund. When interviewed, he said, “But the day when I received the 800 “isk,” I went aboard a trawler and sailed straight to London. I could not imagine visiting a smaller city, once I finally got going.”
I am wondering if the contest was what was needed to awaken Icelanders to his talent as an artist. The very next year, in 1912, he secured the support required to further his studies. He passed the entrance examination and was accepted into the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. All this became possible with the financial backing of the fishers and the Icelandic Confederation of Labour. He was on his way. In Copenhagen he was soon exposed to other ideas about art, and he was drawn towards Modernism. Artists all over Europe were rejecting the common methods and were experimenting with new techniques and materials not known to the traditional art world. His eyes were opened to endless possibilities.
According to the same source about the contest in 1911, besides studying at the Academy of Fine Arts, he also studied at the Technical Society’s School. Today, they and other well-known design schools are now all under the auspices of the Royal Danish Academy – Architecture, Design, Conservation, which was renamed in 2020. While in Denmark Kjarval painted many well-known works of art, such as “Tree of Knowledge” and “Forest Palace,” which are both in the National Gallery of Iceland.
In 1920 he was given a grant to travel to Rome. By this time, he was married to a Danish woman, Tove Merrild, and together they travelled to Italy. He took in many places while there…Rome, Florence, Tivoli, Amalfi, just to name a few, and returned with many water colours and brush drawings. His works show that he was influenced by this trip, by the landscapes as well as by the famous Italian portraits.
He returned to Iceland two years later in 1922. Then in 1928 he travelled to France on his own, after he and Tove had divorced in 1925. He stayed six months in a studio apartment in Paris. He also spent time at the Fontainebleau Forest just outside the city where he concentrated on the woodland landscapes. A year after returning home, he decided to concentrate on the local landscapes and paint outdoors. This was a turning point in his life, “protecting the whole of nature” as he put it.
It is thought that his works rekindled the country’s appreciation of its landscape, its uniqueness. To quote the Icelandic Times, it appears that his accomplishments were greater than just landscapes.
“Because of the unique mix of styles, it is an oversimplification to classify him has [sic] a landscape painter. His work includes expressionist, abstract, cubist, landscape and portrait paintings and drawings – and his “style promiscuity” was highly original as the man himself was. He was a highly original modernizer of his time and still remains quite unique among Icelandic and world painters. In 1958 he was awarded the Prince Eugen Medal by the King of Sweden.”
A museum called Kjarvalsstaðir, one of three parts that make up the Reykjavík Art Museum, is dedicated to his works. Exhibitions of other artists are also shown there and it houses a gift shop as well as a café. Although known as a painter Kjarval incorporated elements of sculpture into his works, creating a three-dimensional effect, making him quite unique as an artist.
Another museum called Kjarvalshvammur, is housed in a cabin with a boathouse, where he once lived while painting the countryside. It was the only real estate he ever owned. Kjarval had spent time there living in a tent before the local farmer gave him some land to call his own. It is located close to the town of Egilstaðir on road 94 beside the Selfljót river south of Ketilsstaðir farm on the way out Héraðsflói. We visited this cabin on the 9th of September 2025 while touring the East Fjords. Unfortunately, the cabin was inaccessible, but I was able to take some photos.
Kjarval passed away penniless on the 13th of April 1972. His estate consisted solely of his various unsold works, which would have been valuable even then. In 1968 he bequeathed everything he owned to the city of Reykjavík. In turn, they looked after his financial as well as his health requirements until his death.
Curious as I am, I wonder whether he left this world alone? Although divorced since 1925, Johannes and Tove had two children: a daughter named Aase and a son named Svein. Were either one of them there at the end? Hopefully, someone was. Thankfully, in my research I have found no indication that he died alone. But what I did find was a blog maintained by his grandson Ingimundur Kjarval dated 2007, that hints at controversy surrounding his grandfather’s estate, which questions whether the city had the legal rights to it. That is not something an amateur like me can or should tackle. But obviously, questions remain to this day.
What Johannes Sveinsson Kjarval, a modernist, left was a legacy of artistic foresight that continues to influence the way artists today interpret their visions. A legacy not just to Icelanders but to the world.
Some interesting facts about the artist:
He is on the Icelandic 2000 króna banknote.
On the 1977 debut album Björk, there is an instrumental flute tribute, “Jóhannes Kjarval” written and performed by Björk.
A church in Borgarfjörður Eystri has a painting by Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval that depicts Jesus on the cross on an elf hill. The local bishop has refused to bless the painting because of this. Kjarvalsstofa is a museum in Bakkagerði dedicated to the painter who grew up in the area.
He is my 3rd half-cousin once removed, and he will be related to some of you as well. By expanding the search, I found 6 common ancestors, full 3rd + 4th cousins, but twice removed. (Sourced from Icelandic Roots)
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Sources Used:
“Everything you need to know about Modernism in Art.” (September 15, 2019). In Convelio. Retrieved from: https://www.convelio.com/en/blog/blogpost/everything-you-need-to-know-about-modernism-in-art/ : 07 Oct 2025.
Halldórsdóttir, Edda. “Artists: Jóhannes S. Kjarval: From Abroad” (08 Sep 2023–30 Dec 2025). Kjarval and the 20th Century: When Modernity Anchored [Exhibit]. In Listasafn Reykjavikur. Retrieved from: https://listasafnreykjavikur.is/en/exhibitions/johannes-s-kjarval-abroad : 07 Oct 2025.
“Art” in Hotel Holt. Retrieved from: https://www.holt.is/en/art : 07 Oct 2025.
“Johannes Sveinsson Kjarval” (n.d). In Icelandic Times [Editorial]. Retrieved from: https://icelandictimes.com/johannes-sveinsson-kjarval/ : 07 Oct 2025.
*Search Icelandic Times for more on Kjarval: https://icelandictimes.com/?s=johannes+sveinsson+kjarval : 07 Oct 2025.
“Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval; Lava at Bessastadir, 1947-54.” In MOMA [Exhibit]. Retrieved from: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79425?artist_id=3124&page=1&sov_referrer=artist : 07 Oct 2025.
“Kjarvalshvammur.” (n.d). In VisitAusturland. Retrieved from: https://www.east.is/en/place/kjarvalshvammur : 07 Oct 2025.
“The history of the School of Design.” (n.d.). In The Royal Danish Academy. Retrieved from: https://royaldanishacademy.com/en/school-design/history-school-design : 07 Oct 2025.
Ingimundur Kjarval: Various documents regarding the inheritance of the painter Jóhannes Kjarval [Blog]. Retrieved from: https://kjarval.blogspot.com/ : 07 Oct 2025.
