Thor Vilhjálmsson

Níels Hafstein

The Icelandic author Thor Vilhjálmsson drew incessantly wherever he was, and it can be said that the result is a visual exploration. The collection holds just under six thousand drawings. This selection depicts masculine faces in ink and graphite, alternating between broad and thin strokes, dark and light shapes, fixed shading or a slight swing with the pencil. They were made in 1950–1954 and are based on rich personal emotions, experiences and instinctive perceptions, showing the author’s understanding of human nature.

Exhibition

Centenary

Wheelchair Access

The Icelandic Folk and Outsider Art Museum was founded in 1995 by Níels Hafstein and Magnhildur Sigurðardóttir. For over 30 years the founders have been passionately committed to collecting artworks by artists who have been seen as outside the cultural mainstream. These are sometimes called naïve or outsider artists but in fact they have a real and direct connection to an original creative spirit; true, unspoiled and free. The museum is unique in Iceland, initially collecting artworks by all major contemporary folk artists and autodidacts in Iceland. Those artworks form the core of the collection, while the museum has also gradually acquired an excellent collection of art by professional contemporary artists, whose works are in line with the museum’s exhibition and collection policy. It is of importance that all the artworks presented are on an equal footing. The core collection consists today of artworks and sketches by over 300 artists, dating from the mid-19th century to the present. 