Nína Sæmundsson

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]

Nína Sæmundsson
Born
Jónína Sæmundsdóttir

(1892-08-22)August 22, 1892
Fljótshlíð, Iceland
DiedJanuary 29, 1965(1965-01-29) (aged 72)
Reykjavik, Iceland
Other namesNina Saemundsson, Nína Sæmundsdóttir
Years active1930s–1960s
Known forsculptures, paintings
Nína Sæmundsson working in her living room studio in Los Angeles, on a clay model of Prometheus (July 1934).

About

Jónína Sæmundsdóttir was born 22 August 1892 in the Fljótshlíð region in South Iceland.[2] She was raised on the farm Nikulásarhús, but the family moved to the city of Reykjavík when she was a teenager.[2][3] Saemundsson attended the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Charlottenborg Palace, studying under artists Julius Schultz and Einar Ultzon-Frank.[4] After graduating in 1920, she traveled around Europe. Sæmundsson initially moved to New York City in 1926.[4]

By the mid-1930s, Sæmundsson moved to Hollywood area of Los Angeles.[5] For many years she lived with screenwriter Polly James on Camrose Drive near the Hollywood Bowl.[4] She taught classes at Henry Lovins' Hollywood Art Center School.[4][6]

Saemundsson became popular as a portrait artist for celebrities.[4] 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.[7]

Sæmundsson worked as a set decorator building sculptures for the Albert Lewin film, The Moon and Sixpence (1942).[8]

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.

See also

References
  1. Los Angeles in the 1930s: The WPA Guide to the City of Angels. University of California Press. 2011-04-05. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-520-94886-0.
  2. "Nína Sæmundsson". Icelandmag. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  3. "Nikulásarhús". Iceland Road Guide. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  4. "Nina Saemundsson" (PDF). Reykjavík Art Museum. 2008. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
  5. Hughes, Edan Milton (1986). Artists in California, 1786-1940. Hughes Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0961611200.
  6. "Henry Lovins and the Lost Hollywood Art Center School". East of Borneo. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  7. Shearer, Stephen Michael (2010-09-28). Beautiful: The Life of Hedy Lamarr. Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-4299-0820-7.
  8. "The Moon and Sixpence (1942)". AFI Catalog. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  9. Brandstetter, Gabriele (2015-04-10). Poetics of Dance: Body, Image, and Space in the Historical Avant-Gardes. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-026686-8.
  10. "Under Siege : Vandals, Nature Take Toll on L.A.'s Public Sculpture". Los Angeles Times. 1996-07-16. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  11. "Statue of Prometheus in Westlake Park (MacArthur Park), Los Angeles, 1937". Calisphere. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  12. "Nina Saemundsson working on her statue of Prometheus Bringing Fire to Earth in her studio, Los Angeles, 1934". Calisphere. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  13. Schreiner, Casey (2020-05-15). Discovering Griffith Park: A Local's Guide. Mountaineers Books. ISBN 978-1-68051-267-0.
  14. "LEIF ERIKSON, (SCULPTURE)". National Anthropological Archives, NAA Collections, Smithsonian. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  15. "From Iceland — Time Capsule: "Perlufestin" Tjörninn". The Reykjavik Grapevine. 2017-08-18. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
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