
1892-1965
Theme/Style – Modernism, portraits, figurative art, landscapes
Media – Sculptures in wood, terracotta, cement, marble and plaster, oils, pastels, charcoal drawings
Artistic Focus – Once one of the most well-known and sought after sculptors among Los Angeles collectors, celebrities, and socialites, and in 1942 said to be “among the very few good sculptors working west of the Mississippi” by Arthur Millier in the Los Angeles Times, Nina Saemundsson was as comfortable creating large-scale public figural works as she was sculpting smaller, more personal portrait busts and figures. Sensitive, emotionally-charged, and superbly crafted, Saemundsson’s portraits and figures in clay, wood and stone are accessible, yet somehow otherworldly. Though half her life was spent in the United States, Saemundsson is known in her native Iceland as the country’s first professional woman sculptor. Critic Arthur Millier said “…she brought a rare capacity to feel deeply and to express emotions with strength and clarity.”
Selection of Works by this Artist
Bibliographic references are available upon request.