Ásta Sigurðardóttir (1930–1971) showed artistic talent from a young age, both as a writer and a visual artist. She first attracted attention with the short story Sunday Evening to Monday Morning, which appeared with Ásta’s own illustrations in the magazine Líf og list in 1951. Ten years later, a short story collection by Ásta with the same title was published; it was considered highly provocative and challenged prevailing morals. Fourteen woodcuts by Ásta adorn the book—symbolic images that express and interpret the text. Ásta’s descendants have preserved the blocks she carved for the 1961 publication and have now decided to donate them to the National Gallery of Iceland. The blocks were formally presented on Thursday, 27 November 2026. At that time, a selection of the blocks was on display together with prints owned by the National Gallery of Iceland, which the printmaker Guðmundur Ármann produced in 2023 from Ásta’s woodcuts at the initiative of her descendants.
