Lothar Grund was born in Schwering, Germany, on October 22nd, 1923. In 1950 he moved to Iceland in search of new opportunities. Shortly after he met actress Anna Þorbjörg Halldórsdóttir. They married on July 25th, 1952, and had three sons: Pétur Adolf Garðar, Atla Halldór og Alfreð. The family moved to Germany at the end of the 1950s and settled in Hamburg. Lothar died on November 15th, 1995.

From 1951 to 1958 Lothar worked on more than fifty theatrical productions in Iceland. They were of all shapes and sizes, for various theatre companies, both amateur and professional. His ambition, experience and artistry had unmeasured influence on Icelandic scenography and costume design.

Lothar’s private archive (LMÍ 2022/6) spanning his work period within the Icelandic performing arts is preserved at the Theatre Museum. The collection contains more than three hundred stage and costume designs. The collection also includes several drawings and paper figurines for Richard Wagner’s Das Rheingold, a project never realised in Iceland.

The picture is a scenography drawing for the play Spádómurinn (The Prophecy) by Tryggvi Sveinbjörnsson performed at the National Theatre of Iceland in 1956 and directed by Indriði Waage. Lothar was responsible for both the stage and costume design. The performance was a flop and the play was only performed six times, mostly for an empty house, but Lothar did receive rave reviews for the set and costumes.