"I went to Chicago every day, but when I had little to do, I would carve. My workbench was outside the hut and the animals knew me well, I spoke to them in three languages, their own, English and Icelandic. They could read my mind from the lines in my face."

"When I realised what a lot of things I had made, I stopped and wondered what I should do with it all. I wanted to take it to Iceland but how could that be done. The answer was by taking it there myself. And here I am." (From an interview by Páll Lýðsson in March 1975)

(Click on the photos to enlarge them)

In a letter signed May 2nd 1969, Halldór Einarsson from Brandshús stated that he wished to donate his woodcarvings and other articles to Árnes County and additionally a considerable amount of money for the purpose of building a museum.

Halldór's wish was that his collection would be integrated with the Municipal Museum of Árnes county. His donation to the museum consisted of 84 wooden carvings, 35 marble carvings, 15 drawings, a chess set made of horn and 10 small rock carvings. See samples.

Later a building was erected to house the Árnes County Art Museum and there, in a bright hall Halldór himself put up his works with the help of his nephew Einar Hallmundsson. He dedicated the exhibition to the memory of his parents who lived on the Brandshús farm in Árnes County. On the floor of the hall, Halldór carved signs to depict the life of his parents. See more about the signs.

Front page // Biography // Carvings on Rock Island // Donation to Árnes County // Examples of works
 Árnes County Art Museum // Íslenska