Louisa Matthíasdóttir (February 20, 1917 – February 26, 2000) 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- American painter. Louisa was born 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 ...

. From 1925 to 1937 she grew up in the famous

Höfði Höfði () is a house in Reykjavík, Iceland, built in 1909, and best known as the location for the 1986 Reykjavík Summit meeting of President Ronald Reagan of the United States and General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Ge ...

house since her family resided there. She showed artistic ability at an early age, and studied first in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and then under Marcel Gromaire in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Her early paintings, dating from the late 1930s, established her as a leading figure in the Icelandic

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

community (many of whom met together in a house in Reykjavík called Unuhús). In these paintings, subjects are painted with a broad brush, emphasizing geometric form. According to Louisa, "it was around this time that I started to do my paintings in one unbroken session". These paintings already show much of the character of Louisa's mature work, but are more subdued in color. Her move to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1942 was followed by a period of study under Hans Hofmann, along with other painters including Robert De Niro, Sr. (father of the actor) and Jane Freilicher. In 1944, she married painter Leland Bell, and until Bell's death in 1991 they enjoyed a partnership of mutual support. Their daughter Temma was born in 1945. During the mid-1940s, Louisa and Bell met

Jean Hélion Jean Hélion (April 21, 1904October 27, 1987) was a French painter whose abstract work of the 1930s established him as a leading modernist. His midcareer rejection of abstraction was followed by nearly five decades as a figurative painter. He w ...

, whose figurative style may have influenced Louisa's use of outline in some of her paintings of this period, such as ''Leland and Temma'' (1948). Louisa 's first solo exhibition took place at Jane Street Gallery in New York in 1948. Louisa, Bell, and Temma visited Paris in 1951–52 where they frequently met with Hélion, who introduced them to

Alberto Giacometti Alberto Giacometti (, , ; 10 October 1901 – 11 January 1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, Drafter, draftsman and Printmaking, printmaker, who was one of the most important sculptors of the 20th century. His work was particularly influenced ...

and

Balthus Balthasar Klossowski de Rola (February 29, 1908 – February 18, 2001), known as Balthus, was a Polish-French modern artist. He is known for his erotically charged images of pubescent girls, but also for the refined, dreamlike quality of his ima ...

. While Louisa's work of the 1950s saw her introducing a painterly style of small, gestural brushstrokes and tonal gradations, during the 1960s she gradually abandoned tonality as her style became characterized by brisk execution and broad areas of forthright color. The paintings of Louisa's final three decades include Icelandic landscapes, a series of self-portraits, and tabletop still-life arrangements. The landscapes often include charmingly stylized depictions of Icelandic horses and sheep. She was to remain an Icelandic citizen all her life, the physical characteristics of her native land informing her bold treatment of form and clarity of light. The poet

John Ashbery John Lawrence Ashbery (July 28, 1927 – September 3, 2017) was an American poet and art critic. Ashbery is considered the most influential American poet of his time. Oxford University literary critic John Bayley wrote that Ashbery "sounded, in ...

described the result as the "flavor, both mellow and astringent, which no other painter gives us." In 1996, Louisa was awarded the American-Scandinavian Foundation's Cultural Award, and in 1998 became a member of the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, Music of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...

. She died in

Delhi, New York Delhi ( ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Delaware County, New York, United States. The population was 4,795 at the 2020 census.US Census Bureau, 2020 Census, Delhi town, Delaware County, New York https://www.census.gov/s ...

in 2000. Her work is represented in many public collections, including the

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is an art museum beside the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. The museum was initially endowed during the 1960s with the permanent art collection of Joseph H. Hirshhorn. It was designed ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

, and the Reykjavík Art Museum.

Solo Exhibitions

* 1948: Jane Street Gallery, NYC * 1958: Tanager Gallery, NYC * 1960:

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

, Storrs * 1964: Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, NYC * 1966: Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, NYC * 1968: Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, NYC * 1969: Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, NYC * 1970: Albrecht Art Museum, St. Joseph, Missouri * 1970: Framehouse Gallery, Louisville, Kentucky * 1972: Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, NYC * 1972: Litchfield Art Center, Litchfield Connecticut * 1972: Windham College, Putney, Vermont * 1974: Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, NYC * 1976: Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, NYC * 1978: Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, NYC * 1978:

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant coll ...

, Durham * 1980: Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, NYC * 1982: Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, South Hadley, Massachusetts * 1982: Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, NYC * 1983: Gross McLeaf Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania * 1984: Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, NYC * 2011: ''From Unuhús to West 8th Street'' at Kjarvalstaðir, Reykjavík Art Museum

References

* Perl, Jed, ed. (1999). ''Louisa Matthiasdottir''. New York: Hudson Hills Press.

External links

louisamatthiasdottir.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthiasdottir, Louisa 1917 births 2000 deaths Louisa Matthiasdottir Modern painters Louisa Matthiasdottir Art Students League of New York alumni Kansas City Art Institute alumni 20th-century American painters Louisa Matthiasdottir Louisa Matthiasdottir 20th-century women painters