Gerður Helgadóttir

This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Gerður.

Gerður Helgadóttir
Born	1928 (1928) Iceland
Died	1975 (aged 46–47)
Nationality	Icelandic
Education	Art and Craft School of Iceland
Known for	Sculpture, Stained Glass
Awards	Order of the Falcon

Gerður Helgadóttir (1928–1975) was an Icelandic sculptor and stained glass artist.

She studied at the Art and Craft School of Iceland (MHÍ), in Denmark, at the Accademia di Belle Arti Firenze and at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, Paris. Perhaps her most noted work was her stained glass in Skálholt Cathedral and the church in Kópavogur.

Honours

In 1974, she was awarded the Order of the Falcon.

Artworks

In the 1960s, Gerður produced geometric ironworks which earned her fame as a pioneer of three-dimensional abstract artworks in Iceland. Gerður was renowned for her glass works, which decorate six churches in Iceland alone.

In 1973, she created a large mosaic at the Tollhús in Hafnarstræti in Reykjavík which was one of the largest artworks to have been produced in Iceland up until that point.

Death

After Gerður's death the contents of her studio in Paris were rescued by her friend Elin Palmadottir and her sister Unnur and moved to Iceland. They were donated to the city of Kópavogur with the conditions that they build a museum in her honor and preserve and showcase her work. The Gerðarsafn Kópavogur Art Museum opened in 1994.

Stained glass window works within the Skalholt Church created by Gerdur Helgadottir.

External links

• Gerðarsafn (a progressive art museum dedicated to the memory of Gerður Helgadóttir)

Other sources

• Elín Pálmadóttir, (1998) Gerður: ævisaga myndhöggvara önnur útgáfa (Listasafn KópavogsGerðarsafn).
• Gerður Helgadóttir myndhöggvari (1995) (Listasafn Kópavogs – Gerðarsafn).