Painter. Considered one of the outstanding Icelandic painters,  his most important works portray the nature of his country. After working as a sailor in his youth, he came to Denmark to study at The Royal Academy of Fine Arts from 1914 to 1918. The following years he travelled around Scandinavia and Italy before settling in Iceland in 1922. The art museum Kjarvalsstaðir in Reykjavík was opened shortly after his death and houses a permanent exhibition of many of his works. (bio by: Erik Skytte)