Ólöf Pálsdóttir (14 April 1920 – 21 February 2018) was an

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

ic sculptor, and was responsible for one of the most-prominently located statues in

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

, that of a cellist in the water next to the new concert hall.

Early life

Ólöf Pálsdóttir was born in 1920 to Páll Ólafsson and Hildur Stefánsdóttir. She attended Verzlunarskóli Íslands in Reykjavík, the oldest private school in Iceland. Completing school coincided with the start of

WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. She then spent the War in the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

. After the War, she studied sculpture under Ingeborg Bachman in Denmark, under

Einar Utzon-Frank Aksel (Axel) Einar (Ejnar) Utzon-Frank (30 March 1888 – 15 July 1955) was a Danish sculptor and professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. During his lifetime, he produced many sculptures, some of which stand as public monuments. U ...

at the Frederiksberg Technical School in Copenhagen, under

Ramses Wissa Wassef Ramses Wissa Wassef (1911–1974) was an Egyptian architect and professor of art and architecture at the College of Fine Arts in Cairo and founder of the Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Centre. Biography Ramses Wissa Wassef was born in Cairo to a Copti ...

in Egypt, and in Rome.

Career

Her works include: *''Son'' (1920), on the east bank of the

Tjörnin Tjörnin () is a small, prominent lake in central Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland. Most visitors to the city pass along its shore, as it is situated in the city centre next to the Reykjavik City Hall and several museums. ''Tjörnin'' means "t ...

in Reykjavík, which portrays a young man, his arms thrown wide open to greet life and all its opportunities. Olof once said that the sculpture symbolises the youth of Iceland. *''Girl'' (1950), in the Hallargardur (Palace Garden) in Reykjavík, which portrays a young girl, of an indeterminate age, kneeling. *''The Musician'' (1970), in the water next to the

Harpa ''Harpa'', common name the "harp snails", is a genus of large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Harpidae.Gofas, S.; Bouchet, P. (2015). Harpa Röding, 1798. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of ...

in Reykjavík, the home of the

Iceland Symphony Orchestra Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands (Iceland Symphony Orchestra) (ISO) is an Icelandic orchestra based in Reykjavík. Its primary concert venue is the Harpa (concert hall), Harpa Concert Hall. The Iceland Symphony is an autonomous public institution u ...

, and modelled on the Danish cellist

Erling Blöndal Bengtsson Erling Blöndal Bengtsson (8 March 1932 – 6 June 2013) was a Danish cellist. Born in Copenhagen, Bengtsson gave his first public performance there in 1936, when he was four years old. He was admitted at the age of sixteen to the Curtis Institut ...

, who played constantly for Ólöf as he sat for her. When the Orchestra was based at the Háskólabíó, the statue was located on Hagatorg, but it followed the Orchestra to its new home in 2014. She is one of five female sculptors whose work is featured in the Women's Sculpture Park in Hljómskálagarður Park. She was awarded the Knight's Class of the

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon () is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by Christian X of Denmark, King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. Nowaday ...

in 1970.

Personal life

She married Sigurður Bjarnason, a newspaper editor, politician and diplomat, (18 December 1915 – 5 January 2012) on 5 February 1956; they had two children, Hildur Helga and Ólafur Páll. She died in 2018, aged 97.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palsdottir, Olof Olof Palsdottir 1920 births 2018 deaths Olof Palsdottir Olof Palsdottir Olof Palsdottir Expatriates in the Faroe Islands 20th-century women sculptors