Gunnlaugur Óskar Scheving (8 June 1904 – 9 September 1972) was an Icelandic artist. He was one of Iceland's leading figurative painters and

social realist Social realism is the term used for work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers and filmmakers that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structure ...

painters of the 20th century. His art was part of a 1930s movement which broke with the tradition of landscape painting carried over from the turn of the century. Gunnlaugur's art focussed on working people, especially fishermen at sea and figures in rural settings.

Biography

Gunnlaugur Óskar Scheving was born on 8 June 1904 in Reykjavik. At the age of 5, Scheving's parents sent him to foster care first in Unaós in East Iceland and later

Seyðisfjörður Seyðisfjörður () is a town in the Eastern Region of Iceland at the innermost point of the fjord of the same name. The town is located in the municipality of Múlaþing. A road over Fjarðarheiði mountain pass (elevation ) connects Seyðisfjö ...

. At the age of sixteen, he returned to

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

to work for his uncle, the editor and poet Þorsteinn Gíslason, and to study drawing with Icelandic sculptor

Einar Jónsson Einar Jónsson (11 May 1874 – 18 October 1954) was an Icelandic sculptor, born in ''Galtafell'', a farm in southern Iceland. Biography At a young age Einar proved himself to be an unusual child with an artistic bent. At that time there was li ...

. In 1923 he went to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

to study at the art academy there, and while preparing for admission, he lived in sculptor and artist Nína Sæmundsson's house, who lived in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

at the time. After failing to secure a summer job in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, he returned home to Reykjavík where he stayed until 1925. He returned to the academy and after graduating in 1930, Scheving moved to Seyðisfjörður and held exhibitions in Reykjavík. He wrote as an art critic for the

Morgunblaðið ''Morgunblaðið'' (, ''The Morning Paper'') is an Icelandic newspaper. ''Morgunblaðið''s website, mbl.is, is the most popular website in Iceland. History ''Morgunblaðið'' was founded by Vilhjálmur Finsen and Ólafur Björnsson, brother of ...

newspaper. He married Grete Linck, a fellow student from Copenhagen, with whom he held joint exhibitions.

References

1904 births 1972 deaths Icelandic people of Danish descent 20th-century Icelandic painters 20th-century male artists Icelandic people with family names Male painters {{Iceland-painter-stub