urnar tvær sem hún stóð. Ef til vill hafa tíðir hljómleikar átt sinn þátt í góðum undirtektum, því hvert stórverkið á fætur öðru var flutt á sýningartímanum og stundum mörg sama kvöldið. Engu að síður var sýningin sjálf umtöluð og spruttu af henni frjóar deilur. Þar áttu gagnrýnendur drjúgan hlut að máli, því flestir voru þeir andvígir stefnu Septembermanna. Samt sem áður lét enginn þeirra sér til hugar koma að hunsa sýninguna né rangtúlka skoðanir sýnenda eins og síðar varð tíska. Dómarar stældu einfaldlega við listamenn um markmið og leiðir; stundum með þykkju, en aldrei af óheilindum. Hinir ungu Septembermenn urðu því fljótt nafnkunnir. Þeir þurftu ekki að vera orðaðir og borða- lagðir af konungum utan úr heimi til að vekja eftirtekt landsmanna. í slíku andrúmslofti heilbrigðra skoðanaskipta steig Valtýr Pétursson sín fyrstu spor á listamannsbrautinni. Hann er ættaður frá Grenivík við Eyjafjörð, en fimmtán ára gamall var hann farinn að stunda listnám í Reykjavík undir leiðsögn Björns Björnssonar. Það var á árunum 1934 til 1936. Áratug síðar var hann kominn til Bostonar á Nýja-Englandi, þar sem hann dvaldi tvo vetur á listaskóla Hymans Bloom. Bandaríkin munu þó ekki hafa heillað hinn unga listnema, því þremur árum síðar var hann sestur á skólabekk í Fagurlistaakadem- íu Flórensborgar. Þar dvaldi hann einn vetur og notaði um leið tækifærið til að heimsækja aðrar helstu menningarborgir Ítalíu. En eins og títt var með unga listamenn á fyrstu árum eftir stríð, stefndi hugur Valtýs til Signubakka. Þangað hélt hann í lok fimmta áratugarins og dvaldi í eitt ár. Ungum listamönnum getur fundist undarlegt hve mikið aðdráttarafl París hafði á þessum árum, en um miðja öldina var fáum Ijóst hvert stefndi í heimslistinni. Flestum, þar á meðal Valtý, bar saman um að borgin við Signu hefði óskoraða forystu í sjónmenntum og þar væri í deiglu hið framsæknasta af myndlist samtímans. Reykjavík. Figures on attendance tell a different story. They say that the exhibition received the city dwellers’ undivided attention for the two weeks of its duration. One of the reasons for the good reception may have been the frequency of musical performances during the exhibition period, for quality recitals were pre- sented again and again, sometimes several the same evening. The exhibition was, however, controversial and it prompted many fertile discussions. The critics were particularly active because they were, almost to a man, opposed to the September group’s aims. But it never crossed their minds to ignore the exhibition nor to misrepresent the group’s views as became fashion- able later. They simply disagreed with the artists as to methods and objectives, sometimes angrily but never unfairly. The names of the young September artists were thus soon well-known and they did not need to be knighted or feted by foreign royalty to gain the attention of their own countrymen. It was in this atmosphere of a healthy exchange of opinions that Valtýr Pétursson began his career as an artist. He was born in Grenivík on Eyjafjörður but left for Reykjavík when fifteen years old to study art under Björn Björnsson from 1934 until 1936. Ten years later he went to Hyman Bloom’s art college in Boston, New England, but the young artist was clearly unimpressed by America for three years later he was attending classes at the Academy of Fine Art in Florence where he stayed for a year, using the opportunity to visit other Italian cities and cultural centres. But as was common with many young artists in the first years after the war, Valtýr was drawn to the banks of the Seine; he arrived in Paris in the late forties and lived there for a year. Young artists today are amazed at the way Paris acted as a magnet during these years, but in mid-century few people were aware of the direction the world’s art was about to take. Most artists, including Valtýr, agreed that the city on the banks of the Seine provided an undisputed leadership in visual arts and that the most avant-garde modern 8

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(54) Color Palette