In his essay “Thoughts on watercolour paintings by Icelandic artists” published in the book Blæbrigði vatnsins (Reykjavík Art Museum 2010), the art historian Aðalsteinn Ingólfsson points out that each nation has its own history of watercolour which often develops separately from the international art history of painting, sculpture and architecture found in the textbooks.  With few exceptions in western art, watercolour painting was not held in such high regard as was oil painting and sculpture. Iceland was no exception in this respect. Exhibitions of watercolours were few and far between. Indeed the retrospective exhibition “Blæbrigði vatnsins” (en: Nuances of water) which was held in Kjarvalsstaðir in 2010 is considered to be the first appraisal of this art medium to be presented to the public since the beginnings of Icelandic art history in the late 19th century!

There have of course been many exhibitions of watercolours held in Iceland both by individual artists and by groups. It is notable that the Nordic Watercolour Society has held two successful group exhibitions in 2010 and 2017, both of which were well attended and praised by the public.