The National Gallery of Iceland receives the Icelandic Museum Awards 2026!
It is a great honour and encouragement for us to receive the Icelandic Museum Awards 2026 in recognition of our contribution to combating art forgery through the exhibition The Mystery of the Lumpfish and Other Stories of Fakes and Forgeries, curated by Dagný Heiðdal and Ólafur Ingi Jónsson.
“It was by no means an obvious decision to stage this exhibition, as many felt the museum should instead devote its time and energy to presenting other — and perhaps more positive — aspects of Icelandic art history. However, we believed the time had come to confront this difficult chapter in our history, to educate the public about art forgery, and to raise awareness of how forgeries can be identified and avoided,” says Ingibjörg Jóhannsdóttir, Director of the National Gallery of Iceland.
We warmly congratulate all the nominees on this well-deserved recognition of their outstanding work.
From the Selection Committee’s Citation:
On 18 May, International Museum Day, the Icelandic Museum Awards were presented at a formal ceremony. The awards are jointly presented by the Icelandic National Committee of ICOM (the International Council of Museums) and the Association of Icelandic Museums and Museum Professionals (FÍSOS), and are awarded every two years to an Icelandic museum in recognition of excellence and outstanding achievement.
The President of Iceland, Halla Tómasdóttir, presented the awards at Kjarvalsstaðir, where museum professionals gathered to celebrate the vitality and diversity of museum practice in Iceland.
This year, the National Gallery of Iceland received the award for its efforts in addressing art forgery. The selection committee stated, among other things:
“The exhibition The Mystery of the Lumpfish and Other Stories of Fakes and Forgeries is a unique and timely contribution to Icelandic museum practice, bringing together scholarly research, professional responsibility, and innovative public engagement for the benefit of audiences. By presenting forged and authentic works side by side, opening research materials to the public, and making a complex subject accessible, the exhibition succeeded in illuminating a sensitive yet urgent issue in a responsible and compelling manner.”
The committee further noted:
“Public knowledge of Icelandic art history is an important safeguard against forgery, and the National Gallery of Iceland has made a significant contribution in this regard through its ambitious and courageous exploration of sensitive aspects of Icelandic art history that have not previously received such professional and comprehensive presentation and discussion.”
The other museums nominated for the awards were the Reykjavík City Museum for projects focused on inclusion and strong community engagement; the East Iceland Heritage Museum for the project Kjarval in East Iceland; the Árni Magnússon Institute for the exhibition A World in Words; and the East Iceland Technical Museum for its reconstruction and restoration efforts.
The selection committee consisted of Birta Guðjónsdóttir, Guðlaug Dröfn Gunnarsdóttir, Hjörtur Þorbjörnsson, and Hörður Geirsson. Alma Sigurðardóttir served as chair of the committee.
Pictured are Ólafur Ingi Jónsson, conservator and curator of the exhibition; Halla Tómasdóttir, President of Iceland; Ingibjörg Jóhannsdóttir, Director of the National Gallery of Iceland; and Dagný Heiðdal, art historian and curator of the exhibition.
... we believed the time had come to confront this difficult chapter in our history, to educate the public about art forgery, and to raise awareness of how forgeries can be identified and avoided.