Nína Sæmundsson

Nína Sæmundsson
Born	Jónína Sæmundsdóttir (1892-08-22)22 August 1892 Fljótshlíð, Iceland
Died	29 January 1965(1965-01-29) (aged 72) Reykjavik, Iceland
Other names	Nina Saemundsson, Nína Sæmundsdóttir
Years active	1930s–1960s
Known for	sculptures, paintings

Nína Sæmundsson or Nina Saemundsson, born as Jónína Sæmundsdóttir (22 August 1892 – 29 January 1965) was an Icelandic artist, known for her sculptures and paintings. She was active between the 1920s until the 1960s in Los Angeles, New York City, and Iceland. She worked as a New Deal artist within the Federal Art Project in the 1930s.[1]

About

Jónína Sæmundsdóttir was born 22 August 1892 in the Fljótshlíð region in South Iceland, near Hvolsvöllur.[2][3] She was raised on the farm Nikulásarhús, but the family moved to the city of Reykjavík when she was a teenager.[2][4] Saemundsson attended the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Charlottenborg Palace, studying under artists Julius Schultz and Einar Ultzon-Frank.[5] Nína was engaged to footballer Gunnar Thorsteinsson, the younger brother of the artist Muggur, from 1918 until his death from pulmonary tuberculosis in May 1921.[6] After graduating in 1920, she traveled around Europe. Sæmundsson initially moved to New York City in 1926.[5]

By the mid-1930s, Sæmundsson moved to the Hollywood area of Los Angeles.[7] For many years she lived with screenwriter Polly James on Camrose Drive near the Hollywood Bowl.[5] She taught classes at Henry Lovins' Hollywood Art Center School.[5][8]

Saemundsson became popular as a portrait artist for celebrities.[5] Actress Hedy Lamarr posed for a bust sculpture by Sæmundsson, which was displayed at the 1939 New York World's Fair with the Swedish American Art Society of the West and it won a first place award.[9]

Sæmundsson worked as a set decorator building sculptures for the Albert Lewin film, The Moon and Sixpence (1942).[10]

She spent the last years of her life painting. In 1955, she moved back to Iceland. She died 29 January 1965.

Public art work

Sæmundsdóttir has many public art work, this list is by the ascending date.

• Mother's love statue (1928), Mæðragarður (Mothers Garden), Reykjavík, Iceland[2]
• The Spirit of Achievement statue (1931), a thin and tall winged nymph, placed over the entrance of the Waldorf Astoria Hostel, New York City, New York, United States[11]
• Prometheus Bringing Fire to Earth statue (1935), an 8 foot bronze of Prometheus raising a torch to a globe of the world, MacArthur Park, Los Angeles, California, United States.[12][13] This work was created as part of Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project.[1][13][14]
• Leif Erikson bust (1936), intersection of Fern Dell Drive and Los Feliz Boulevard entrance to Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California, United States[15][16]
• The Mermaid statue (also known as Hafmeyjan, 1966), Tjörnin lake, Reykjavík, Iceland[2][17]

See also

• List of sculptors
• List of Icelandic visual artists
• List of Icelandic women artists

References

1. Los Angeles in the 1930s: The WPA Guide to the City of Angels. University of California Press. 5 April 2011. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-520-94886-0.
2. "Nína Sæmundsson". Icelandmag. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
3. "Village in S. Iceland to ask Manhattan Waldorf Astoria for a cast of its signature sculpture". Icelandmag. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
4. "Nikulásarhús". Iceland Road Guide. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
5. "Nina Saemundsson" (PDF). Reykjavík Art Museum. 2008. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
6. "Trúlofun í skugga berklaveiki". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 3 December 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
7. Hughes, Edan Milton (1986). Artists in California, 1786-1940. Hughes Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0961611200.
8. "Henry Lovins and the Lost Hollywood Art Center School". East of Borneo. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
9. Shearer, Stephen Michael (28 September 2010). Beautiful: The Life of Hedy Lamarr. Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-4299-0820-7.
10. "The Moon and Sixpence (1942)". AFI Catalog. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
11. Brandstetter, Gabriele (10 April 2015). Poetics of Dance: Body, Image, and Space in the Historical Avant-Gardes. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-026686-8.
12. "Nina Saemundsson working on her statue of Prometheus Bringing Fire to Earth in her studio, Los Angeles, 1934". University of California at Los Angeles. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
13. "Under Siege : Vandals, Nature Take Toll on L.A.'s Public Sculpture". Los Angeles Times. 16 July 1996. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
14. "Nina Saemundsson working on her statue of Prometheus Bringing Fire to Earth in her studio, Los Angeles, 1934". Calisphere. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
15. Schreiner, Casey (15 May 2020). Discovering Griffith Park: A Local's Guide. Mountaineers Books. ISBN 978-1-68051-267-0.
16. "LEIF ERIKSON, (SCULPTURE)". National Anthropological Archives, NAA Collections, Smithsonian. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
17. "From Iceland — Time Capsule: "Perlufestin" Tjörninn". The Reykjavik Grapevine. 18 August 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2020.

External links

• Nína Sæmundsson at IMDb
• Nina Saemundsson (1892–1965) on Artnet.com