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 The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

artist within the

Federal Art Project The Federal Art Project (1935–1943) was a New Deal program to fund the visual arts in the United States. Under national director Holger Cahill, it was one of five Federal Project Number One projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administrati ...

in the 1930s.

About

Jónína Sæmundsdóttir was born 22 August 1892 in the

Fljótshlíð Fljótshlíð () is a rural area in the municipality of Rangárþing eystra in Southern Region, Iceland. Before the formation of Rangárþing eystra in 2002, Fljótshlíð was its own municipality called Fljótshlíðarhreppur. '' Fljót'' ( gen ...

region in

South Iceland Southern Region ( is, Suðurland , lit: ''Southern Land'') is a region of Iceland. The population of the region was 28,399 (1 January 2020). The largest town in the region is Selfoss, with a population of 6,000. See also * Regions of Iceland ...

, near

Hvolsvöllur Hvolsvöllur () is a small town in the south of Iceland about 106 km to the east of Reykjavík. Overview The name of the town literally translates to "Hillfield". ( in the genitive case) is an archaic form of the modern Icelandic word ...

. She was raised on the farm ''Nikulásarhús'', but the family moved to the city of Reykjavík when she was a teenager. Saemundsson attended the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi - Billedkunst Skolerne) has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Dani ...

Charlottenborg Palace Charlottenborg Palace ( da, Charlottenborg Slot) is a large town mansion located on the corner of Kongens Nytorv and Nyhavn in Copenhagen, Denmark. Originally built as a residence for Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve, it has served as the base of the R ...

, studying under artists Julius Schultz and Einar Ultzon-Frank. Nína was engaged to footballer Gunnar Thorsteinsson, the younger brother of the artist Muggur, from 1918 until his death from

pulmonary tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in w ...

in May 1921. After graduating in 1920, she traveled around Europe. Sæmundsson initially moved to New York City in 1926. By the mid-1930s, Sæmundsson moved to the

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

area of Los Angeles. For many years she lived with screenwriter

Polly James Polly James (born 8 July 1941) is an English actress with a career in theatre, film, television and radio. Career Pauline James was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, under the name Pauline Devaney. After graduating from RADA, her TV career began ...

on Camrose Drive near the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

. She taught classes at Henry Lovins' Hollywood Art Center School. Saemundsson became popular as a portrait artist for celebrities. Actress

Hedy Lamarr Hedy Lamarr (; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; November 9, 1914 January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American film actress and inventor. A film star during Hollywood's golden age, Lamarr has been described as one of the greatest movie actresse ...

posed for a bust sculpture by Sæmundsson, which was displayed at the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchas ...

with the Swedish American Art Society of the West and it won a first place award. Sæmundsson worked as a set decorator building sculptures for the

Albert Lewin Albert Lewin (September 23, 1894 – May 9, 1968) was an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Personal life Lewin was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Newark, New Jersey. He earned a master's degree at Harvard and taugh ...

film, ''

The Moon and Sixpence ''The Moon and Sixpence'' is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham, first published on 15 April 1919. It is told in episodic form by a first-person narrator providing a series of glimpses into the mind and soul of the central character, Charles Stric ...

'' (1942). 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. * ''Mother's love'' statue (1928), Mæðragarður (Mothers Garden), Reykjavík, Iceland * ''The Spirit of Achievement'' statue (1931), a thin and tall winged nymph, placed over the entrance of the Waldorf Astoria Hostel, New York City, New York, United States * ''

Prometheus Bringing Fire to Earth ''Prometheus Bringing Fire to Earth'' is an outdoor sculpture by Icelandic artist Nína Sæmundsson, installed in Los Angeles' MacArthur Park, in the U.S. state of California California is a state in the Western United States, located alo ...

'' statue (1935), an 8 foot bronze of Prometheus raising a torch to a globe of the world,

MacArthur Park MacArthur Park (originally Westlake Park) is a park dating back to the late 19th century in the Westlake, Los Angeles, Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. In the early 1940s, it was renamed after General Douglas MacArthur, and later designated ...

, Los Angeles, California, United States This work was created as part of

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

. * Leif Erikson bust (1936), intersection of Fern Dell Drive and Los Feliz Boulevard entrance to

Griffith Park Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park includes popular attractions such as the Los Angeles Zoo, the Autry Museum of the Ameri ...

, Los Angeles, California, United States * ''The Mermaid'' statue (also known as Hafmeyjan, 1966),

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 ...

lake, Reykjavík, Iceland

References

External links

*
Nina Saemundsson (1892–1965)
on Artnet.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Sæmundsson, Nína 1892 births 1965 deaths 20th-century Icelandic women artists Icelandic sculptors Icelandic painters Artists from Los Angeles Artists from New York City Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Federal Art Project artists