The exhibition Tryggvi Magnússon og skjaldarmerkið (Tryggvi Magnússon and the coat of arms) marked the 70th anniversary of the Republic, and among other things it showed drawings that Tryggvi’s descendants have given to the Library. Works from the National Museum and from private owners are also on show. The exhibition shows many of the proposals by Tryggvi and other artists for the Republic’s coat of arms, as well as older coats of arms of Iceland. As the restoration of the Republic in 1944 drew near, Prime Minister Björn Þórðarson asked three permanent secretaries, Vigfús Einarsson, Agnar Kl. Jónsson and Birgir Thorlacius, together with the National Antiquary Matthías Þórðarson, who had been adviser on the design of the coat of arms in 1919, to have a revised coat of arms made. Matthías Þórðarson arranged for many of the nation’s leading artists to submit proposals for a new coat of arms, the so-called Republic arms. In the end Tryggvi Magnússon’s drawing was approved and made public at a meeting of the Council of State on 17 June 1944 as the coat of arms of the Republic of Iceland. The crown was removed and the shape of the shield changed. The supporters were drawn differently from before, as was the base on which the shield rested. In designing the base, Tryggvi had in mind the “Church Floor” (Kirkjugólfið) at Kirkjubæjarklaustur. The original drawing and the proposals are kept in the National Museum, while sketches and other drawings are kept at the National and University Library of Iceland and by private owners.
The exhibition ran until 1 February 2015.