The exhibition Tryggvi Magnússon and the Coat of Arms was held on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Republic and included drawings donated to the museum by Tryggvi's descendants. In addition, works from the National Museum and private collections are on display. The exhibition features many proposals by Tryggvi and other illustrators for a coat of arms of the Republic, as well as older coats of arms of Iceland. As the Republic was being restored in 1944, Prime Minister Björn Þórðarson commissioned three ministers; Vigfús Einarsson, Agnar Kl. Jónsson and Birgi Thorlacius, along with Matthías Þórðarson, the National Monuments Commissioner, who had been a consultant on the design of the coat of arms in 1919, to have a modified coat of arms made. Matthías Þórðarson was instrumental in getting many of the nation's leading artists to make proposals for a new coat of arms, the so-called republican coat of arms. It so happened that Tryggvi Magnússon's drawing was approved and unveiled at a meeting of the State Council on June 17, 1944 as the coat of arms of the Republic of Iceland. The crown was removed from the emblem and the shape of the shield was changed. The shield bearers were drawn differently than before, as was the base on which the shield rested. When designing the base, Tryggvi had in mind the "church floor" at Kirkjubæjarklaustur. The original design and the proposals are preserved in the National Museum, while sketches and other drawings are preserved in the National Library of Iceland - University Library and in private ownership.
The exhibition ran until February 1, 2015.