Hansína Regína Björnsdóttir


Hansína Regína Björnsdóttir was an Icelandic photographer, whose main body of works were signed with the name H. Eiríksson. Her archive of photographic works is held by the National Museum of Iceland.

Early life

Hansína Regína Björnsdóttir was born on 6 June 1884 in Eskifjörður, Iceland to Susanna Sophie and Björn Eiríksson. She was one of eight children born into the family and raised by her mother, who ran the household and the dairy, while her father was a woodwright. She was the great-granddaughter of Hans Jonatan, originally from Saint Croix in the Danish West Indies. Jonatan had been taken by his mistress Henrietta Catharina Schimmelmann to Copenhagen and, after losing a lawsuit to gain his freedom, became runaway slave, fleeing to Iceland. Jonatan was the first immigrant in Iceland of African descent and his marriage with Katrin Antoniusdottir produced two children, Ludvik Stefan and Hansina Regina, who would marry Eirikur Eiríksson.
When she was four years old, Björnsdóttir went to live with her mother Susanna's sister, Nicoline Weywadt on the family homestead Teigarhorn, near Djúpivogur. Weywadt taught Björnsdóttir photography and sent her for further studies in Copenhagen. Completing her education in 1903, the same year her mother died, Björnsdóttir returned to Teigarhorn.

Career

Björnsdóttir took over the studio of her aunt, which she operated until 1911. That year, she married Jóni Kristján Lúðvíkssyni with whom she would have five children. For a while she stopped taking photographs, but resumed her career, using the professional name H. Eiríksson. Due to an accident, some of her work was destroyed, but what remains are images of people and the landscapes around Berufjörður.

Death and legacy

Björnsdóttir died on 5 February 1973 and was buried at the churchyard in Djúpivogur. In 1981, the National Museum of Iceland purchased 1,200 plates and tools which she worked with. In addition, the archive included albums containing photographs made by Weywadt.

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