The Portrait Collection

The Portrait Collection is a part of the Photographic Collection of the National Museum. It contains different types of portraits, including paintings, photographs, needlework, and sculptures. The Portrait collection has a large and diverse range, from snapshots to invaluable pieces of art. The one common denominator is that they all depict people.

In the exhibition, the portraits have been categorised into 34 themes. For instance, you can view the oldest known portrait in Iceland, photographs of the contestants of the first Icelandic beauty pageant and pictures of various groups, both old and new.

The Portrait Collection was established in 1908 with the main objective of collecting images of all Icelanders. It holds 60.000 works spanning 400 years. The collection, which is still active and continuing to grow, primarily consists of donations from individuals.

Media coverage

Víðsjá , RÚV 18.10.2021: Viðtal við Ágústu Kristófersdóttur

Morgunblaðið 2.10.2021: Alls kyns mannamyndir