(b Reykjavík, 1 Dec 1901; d Reykjavík, 31 May 1958). Icelandic painter. He was self-taught, and he took part in several exhibitions of the Society of Friends of Icelandic Art, Listvinafélag Islands, exhibiting works incorporating motifs from fishing villages on the northern coast, rather than more traditional landscapes. After studying intermittently at the Kongelige Kunstakademi in Oslo (1928–31), Arinbjarnar became one of the pioneers of ‘social expressionism’, dealing with subjects from everyday life on the Icelandic coast. This expressionism, which lasted throughout the Depression (until 1940–42), was never politically engaged, but aimed rather at the heroic interpretation of daily life. Arinbjarnar’s works are notable for their strongly constricted composition, which expresses the hardships of the time. After 1940 Arinbjarnar’s work moved steadily towards abstraction, but still incorporated discernible motifs from everyday life (e.g. Girls with Doll, 1943; Reykjavík, N.G.). The younger generation of artists who instigated the Septemberhópurinn (Septembrists’) exhibitions in 1947–52 welcomed Arinbjarnar into their group as one of the pioneers of modern Icelandic art. His status as a popular artist was guaranteed by a retrospective exhibition of his work held in Reykjavík in 1952 by the Felag Islenskra Myndlistarmanna (Icelandic Artists’ Union), an association of painters, sculptors and other pictorial artists with their own exhibition hall in Reykjavík.

• Arinbjarnar, Snorri
  • Iceland, §I, 2: Painting and sculpture, 1800 and after