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Halldór Einarsson was born on the Brandshús -
farm in South Iceland on October 15th 1893. His parents were Einar
Einarsson and Thórunn Halldórsdóttir.
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| "I always wanted to learn woodcarving, but it was very
difficult, there was only one workshop and every position was
filled. I waited for five years to get a place with the carver
Stefán Eiríksson where I studied for four years and
took an exam in drawing and woodcarving." (From an interview by
Páll Lýðsson in March 1975) |
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Halldór moved to America in 1922, initially to his
brother in Manitoba, then to Chicago where he worked most of his
life in a furniture factory.
Halldór decided early that he would not seek honour and
reputation as an artist. He would rather carve roses and
decorations as a tradesman. Halldór did not call his work
art, but said that it was made to pass time.
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| "The depression came and went. Then came the war and around
that time I got married to a Polish woman named Josefine Jablonsky
and we lived in Chicago for 10 years. Then my wife died. Shortly
before that I had the chance to buy a small piece of land in a
village 25 miles from Chicago and often imagined that I would die
there. I never thought of going to Iceland, just lived as a loner
out in these woods in a cottage on that little strip of land. I
lived there for twenty years, alone with the magnificent nature."
(From an interview by Páll Lýðsson in March
1975) |
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While in Chicago, Halldór was brought to the attention
of Chester Hjörtur Thordarson, inventor and businessman and
subsequently worked for him for three years around 1930. Thordarson
owned a big part of Rock Island in Lake Michigan. Among the many
things he left there was his library and oak furniture carved
by Halldór in the Viking Hall. A book on the carvings was
published in 1999. See more about the
carvings on Rock Island.
Halldór
returned to Iceland in 1965 and donated his pieces to the Árnessýsla
Museum in Selfoss, a small town about 50 kilometers east of Reykjavík.
Halldór died in Reykjavík in 1977. See
more about the donation.
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| Halldór's works are based on different ideas. In some
you can see the sorrow of the immigrant who is looking back to his
island of sagas. Others are influenced by symbolism of diverse
cultures and mysticism, favoured by artists such as "The Sevens"
in Chicago and is also evident in the works of sculptor Einar
Jónsson much admired by Halldór. Halldór was
very creative in expressing different symbolism in woodcarvings.
His work was sometimes very sharp on social or political matters
and then suddenly turned very humorous. |
