Laura Goodman Salverson Painting
Image courtesy of the Icelandic Special Collections, University of Manitoba Libraries
An original 1948 painting by Laura Goodman Salverson, this vibrant work depicts a kneeling woman in a floral landscape reaching toward a radiant, winged figure. The imagery evokes themes of transcendence, cultural reverence, and spiritual seeking. Rendered in bold colors and expressive forms, the painting captures the symbolic power of tradition, memory, and connection—hallmarks of Salverson’s artistic and literary vision.
Laura Goodman Salverson (1890–1970) was a groundbreaking Icelandic Canadian author, best known for her novels and autobiographical works that explored themes of immigration, cultural identity, and generational tension. She was the daughter of Icelandic immigrants and grew up in the Icelandic Canadian community shaped by the rich world of Icelandic language print in Manitoba. Her mother, a reader and reciter of Icelandic poetry, and her exposure to Icelandic newspapers and literary societies in the West, deeply influenced her storytelling voice.
Salverson remains historically significant as one of the first Canadian women of Icelandic descent to gain national literary recognition. She won the Governor General’s Award for fiction in 1939 (The Dark Weaver) and again for non-fiction in 1947 (Confessions of an Immigrant’s Daughter). Her legacy is intertwined with the cultural landscape of Icelandic print culture in Canada—a tradition she both drew from and contributed to, in English, while carrying forward the stories of her community.
This painting is a rare visual artifact from a writer who understood the power of words and images in preserving heritage and shaping identity.