Selardalur (Selárdalur) and The Artist with a Child's Heart
Selardalur (Selárdalur) and The Artist with a Child's Heart
Selardalur is 45 minutes drive north of Bildudalur at the end of a gravel road. This remote outpost is wedged into the last of nine short ice-sculpted valleys on the south coast of Arnarfjordur fjord, where precipitous mountains divide the valleys and their fine sandy beaches. Take time to stop along the way, as these are idyllic spots for a short stroll.
Selardalur was home to artist Samuel Jonsson. Born in 1884, Samuel lived on the farm Brautarholt in Selardalur until 1969.
He had been a farmer all his life but when he retired he dedicated his life to artistic pursuits, albeit in a rather naive style.
Without any formal training, he painted and constructed remarkable statues and buildings. Among the works on view are seals, lions, seahorses, a duck with ducklings on its back as well as a statue of the Icelandic explorer Leifur Eiriksson, who discovered America around the year 1000.
He also built a church to house an altarpiece he had made for the local parish church but was rejected.
The artist built a museum to house his work gaining inspiration from St. Peter's church in Rome, the Taj Mahal in India and the Alhambra palace in Granada, Spain.