The Nationa Gallery of Iceland was founded in 1884 in Copenhagen Denmark by Björn Bjarnason and consisted of donated artwork mainly from Danish artists.
The Museum remained in independent institute until 1916 when Alþingi (The Icelandic Parliament) decided to make it a department in the National Heritage Museum.
In 1987 the collection was moved to its present location. The National Gallery is a national museum and the main emphasis of the collection is on the 19th and 20th century Icelandic art, but international art is featured as well.
The museum owns the most valuable collection of works by Icelandic artists in the country, but also renowned artists such as Pablo Picasso, Edward Munch, Karol Appel, Hans Hartung, Victor Vasarely, Richard Serra and Richard Tuttle.
