In 1983, Kópavogur received a generous gift of artwork from the Barbara and Magnúsar Á. Árnason Memorial Fund. In total, these were almost 300 works of art, of which about 100 works by Barbara, drawings, woodcuts, watercolours, prints and watercolours.
Barbara Moray Williams was born in the south of England on April 19, 1911. She was an outstanding student at the University of the Arts in London. She first came to Iceland in 1936 and met her future husband, the artist Magnús Á. Árnason. The following year they got married and lived in Reykjavík for the first few years, but moved to Kópavogur in the summer of 1959 and lived there ever since.
Barbara and Magnús Á Árnason both practiced their art with great diligence throughout their lives, and they left behind a large number of works. As a result, various other artists moved to Kópavogur. Barbara died at the end of 1975.
Barbara’s works are known by the whole nation. In addition to the numerous exhibitions she held in Iceland and the retrospectives held in her honor, Barbara participated in numerous group exhibitions abroad and had pictures at international graphic art exhibitions.
Barbara had written and decorated books since she was a child. As a child, she and her twin sister Ursula had a tradition of exchanging books on birthdays and Christmas, which they wrote and illustrated, both aspiring to be writers. Barbara was a clever illustrator and could easily change her style depending on the content and spirit of the books she was illustrating. Fine and quality workmanship combined with a sensitive sense of decoration characterize Barbara’s book decorations, and they are traditionally considered to mark a turning point in Icelandic book publishing.
On the occasion of the artist’s centenary on April 19, 2011, a retrospective exhibition of her works was opened in Gerðarsafn. Over 250 works by the artist were on display as well as a number of illustrated books, Christmas and occasion cards, Christmas tags and more that Barbara had decorated. Many of the works in the exhibition were privately owned and had never before been on public view.
In the west hall there were watercolor paintings by Barbara, but they include testimony about the settlements in Iceland that she visited with her husband between 1937 and 1975. She painted her last watercolors in Þingvellir the summer before she died. Then she painted children’s pictures, which became very popular, as well as pictures of animals and wild and indoor flowers.
In the east hall you could, among other things, see work done by Barbara from lopa. These works include both tapestries and fashion products. Barbara’s woolen works are one of the most original contributions to Icelandic weaving art in the last century. She showed them many times in Paris and sold well.
On the lower floor of Gerðarsafn, there were works by Barbara that showed how she managed to amazingly master the extremely precise and difficult technique of wood carving. Barbara laid the foundation for Icelandic print art with her woodblocks and is considered one of the pioneers in that field in this country.
