Professor Jón Helgason (1899 - 1986)

Jón Helgason was brought up on an Icelandic farm; as a young man he sailed to Copenhagen to study Nordic philology. He was still fairly young when he was appointed professor at the University of Copenhagen, which happened to house a treasure which had been bequeathed to it in the 18th century by professor Árni Magnússon, namely the Icelandic manuscript collection. It became the central focus of Helgason's professional life. Indefatigable, critical and immensely learned, he perused those old manuscript pages until the end of his days. His chief interest lay in publishing the content of those manuscripts, and he edited the first of many studies and facsimile books on the manuscripts and in the process he turned the Arnamagnean Institute (now divided between Reykjavík and Copenhagen) into an international research centre. His sharp wit and sensitivity to the manifold nuances of the Icelandic language can be found in his scholarly work as well as in his poetry.

Sculptor Sigurjón Ólafsson and his Portraits
Sigurjón Ólafsson Museum 2008, ISBN 978-87-88755-05-03