Reflections of the 20th century

The 20th century may be termed the ‘century of photography’. No other medium captures the social changes or the Zeitgeist as accurately as the photograph, and no century leaves behind such a vast number of images.

The main exhibition is called Reflections of a Century. As the name suggests, it traces the history of Iceland and its people year-by-year through the full century, with about six photographs illustrating each year. The focus is generally on two or three main themes relating to that year, with more than one photo depicting each theme in order to give a more diverse and complete picture.

There are pictures illustrating a number of selected themes from all decades of the 20th century. The exhibition aims to portray the moods of different periods and the conditions and surroundings of people in Iceland. These are photographs of people in the context of their lives, and we can see how homes and public places such as shops changed and developed. Each period flows into the next. Daily life, environment, and people’s living conditions are illustrated in numerous ways as the period is explored in photographs.

The exhibition counts some 650 photographs, most of them from the National Museum’s own collection. These were taken by a vast number of photographers, both amateurs and professionals, from all parts of Iceland. It has not been possible to put a definite date on each picture, yet an effort has been made to keep them as close to the year as possible, with deviations not exceeding five years.