Reykjavík Museum of Photography

Gunnar Rúnar Ólafsson was born on 23 May 1917 in Hafnarfjörður, southwest Iceland, where he grew up.  As a child he displayed artistic talents, and made drawings and oil paintings, and in due course he developed a keen interest in photography. Starting out as a self-taught amateur photographer, he took interesting photographs of street life and individuals in his home town of Hafnarfjörður. He also photographed the celebrations in 1944 when the modern Republic of Iceland was founded at Þingvellir.

After leaving school in 1933 Gunnar Rúnar had a variety of jobs in commerce and the fisheries sector, and during World War II he was employed for a time as an interpreter for the British occupying forces. For two years he ran a shop in Hafnarfjörður, before leaving Iceland for the USA, where he studied at the New York Institute of Photography, and then headed west to Los Angeles. At the Metro Goldwyn Mayer studios in Hollywood, Gunnar Rúnar learned about film-making, and on his return to Iceland in 1946 he started making documentary films, initially for the Saga film company, and later on his own account. He made films on such subjects as forestry in Iceland, and Iceland’s successful efforts to combat tuberculosis.

Gunnar Rúnar was a modernist and progressive photographer in his time, with a keen interest in advances in the field. 

In 1953 Gunnar Rúnar joined the staff of daily Morgunblaðið as a press photographer, on an ad hoc basis alongside his film work. His work included photo essays of Icelanders at work, for instance in industry and the fisheries. He left the newspaper in 1958, after which he undertook a wide range of photographic commissions, for instance industrial and advertising photography, as well as promotional work for the Independence Party, of which he was an active member. He took photographs for municipalities such as Reykjavík, Hafnarfjörður and Akureyri, documented youth activities, and also undertook some photography of family occasions such as weddings and christenings.

Gunnar Rúnar was a modernist and progressive photographer in his time, with a keen interest in advances in the field. He also had a strong feeling for the past, and sought to use photography to document the old rural society of Iceland which was coming to an end. He also photographed historic documents, manuscripts, etc. for the National Library and the National Archives.


Gunnar Rúnar‘s photographic archive was one of the first acquired by the Reykjavik Museum of Photography, in 1981. It comprises about 27,000 images, almost all negatives. The oldest image which has been dated was taken in 1943, but Gunnar appears to have started taking photographs a little earlier. At that time he used exclusively 35mm film. In 1956 he acquired a Rolleiflex, and after that he worked almost exclusively in 6x6 format.

Gunnar Rúnar Ólafsson died in 1965, aged only 47. 


Gunnar Rúnar Ólafsson│Retrospective

A retrospective of the works of Gunnar Rúnar Ólafsson (1917-1965), photographer and film maker.

Gun­nar Rúnar Ólafs­son│Ret­ro­spect­ive

A retrospective of the works of Gunnar Rúnar Ólafsson (1917-1965), photographer and film maker.

Gunnar Rúnar Ólafsson│Retrospective