Background
Louisa Matthiasdottir was born on February 20, 1917, in Reykjavík, Iceland.
Louisa Matthiasdottir was born on February 20, 1917, in Reykjavík, Iceland.
As a young woman Matthíasdóttir studied art in Copenhagen and spent a year studying with Marcel Gromaire in Paris. In 1942 she moved to New York to continue her studies under the tutelage of Hans Hoffman.
Louisa's early paintings, dating from the late 1930s, established her as a leading figure in the Icelandic avant-garde community (many of whom met together in a house in Reykjavík called Unuhús). In these paintings, subjects are painted with a broad brush, emphasizing geometric form. These paintings already show much of the character of Louisa's mature work, but are more subdued in color.
The paintings of Louisa's final three decades include Icelandic landscapes, a series of self-portraits, and tabletop still-life arrangements. The landscapes often include charmingly stylized depictions of Icelandic horses and sheep. She was to remain an Icelandic citizen all her life, the physical characteristics of her native land informing her bold treatment of form and clarity of light.
Matthíasdóttir’s first solo exhibition at the Jane Street Gallery in 1948 established her as an artist in New York’s art scene. Matthíasdóttir began to gain more notoriety in the 1960’s as an important representational painter. She died in the February of 2000 at the age of 83.
Two Horses in a Landscape
Still Life with Frying Pan and Red Cabbage
Icelandic Village
VILLAGE SCENE
Á hestbaki
Uppstilling
Fólk á göngu
Maine Landscape with Figure
Self Portrait with Red Kerchief
Maine, Girl with Bicycle and Recumbent Man
Fólk í landslagi
SHEEP IN FIELD
Maine, Girl with Bicycle II
Self-Portrait in Landscape
Skowhegan Landscape
Two Riders
Harbor Scene, Reykjavik II
Icelandic Village
Woman in Street
Icelandic Landscape with Sheep, Man and Red Roof
Girl with Dog
House and Sheep
Self-Portrait in Striped Sweater
Rider in Icelandic Village
Girl with Blaze
Interior with Leland
Girl with Sheep
Woman in Reykjavik with Umbrella
Apples, Bread and Beer
Icelandic Farm
Self-portrait
PORTRAIT
Boy and Dog in Icelandic Landscape
Icelandic Horse with Blonde Mane
Self-portrait
Self Portrait in Long Striped Sweater
Sheep Walking Through Valley
Reykjavík Harbor
Still Life with Chinese Melon
In 1998 she became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
While in the United States Louisa met and married fellow painter Leland Bell. Together they had one daughter, Temma Bell, also a painter.