Iceland: An Exhibit in Special Collections

July 10 through November 8, 2017

With the Libraries’ acquisition of Chester Thordarson’s collection in the late 1940s came many titles in Icelandic and about Iceland. Guest exhibit curators Peter Gorman and Todd Michelson-Ambelang drew on the Thordarson Collection, as well as other holdings of Special Collections, Memorial Library, Mills Music Library, and the Wisconsin Historical Society, to illustrate Iceland’s natural history, folklore, literature, print culture, and religion. From 16th-century Icelandic Bibles to a recent “intimate portrait of Icelandic ice” by photographer Ian Van Coller, the exhibit afforded a glimpse into Iceland’s stark landscape and rich culture. We hope the exhibit checklist encourages readers to explore further the Libraries’ strong holdings about the land of fire and ice.