Þórarinn Benedikt Þorláksson was one of Iceland's first contemporary painters, the first Icelander to exhibit paintings in Iceland, and recipient of the first public grant that country made to a painter.

     Þórarinn was born in 1867, the 13th of 14 children of a clergyman father, who died when Þórarinn was just five years old. He initially trained and worked as a bookbinder, but in the late nineteenth century became a pupil of Þóra Thoroddsen, an Icelandic woman who had trained in Copenhagen. Þórarinn was awarded the first public grant by the Icelandic Parliament to support his studies, and from 1895–99 he too studied in Copenhagen.

     Returning to Iceland in 1900, he held the first exhibition of Icelandic painting in Iceland at a venue called Glasgow, in Reykjavík. Þórarinn's principal interest was landscape painting. One of the central motifs in Þórarinn’s paintings was Þingvellir, the site of Iceland’s original parliament in 930 CE, about thirty miles east of the capital. This site was the seat of parliment for almost 900. The area is now a World Heritage Site.

     Þórarinn continued to paint, holding regular exhibitions until 1911. However, he required a regular income that could not be derived solely from his art. On December 30, 1913, he was appointed by Prime Minister Hannes Hafstein as one of the five people on the committee that designed the Flag of Iceland. He taught drawing at the Technical College and other institutions in Reykjavík, and was principal of that college from 1916–1922. He also ran a shop selling art materials, journals and books until his death. He not only inspired and taught other artists, but also  supplied them with materials and books from his art shop in the city. Throughout his life he continued to paint, particularly in the countryside during the summers, and it was at his own summerhouse, Birkihlíð, that he died on July 10, 1924.