Gunnfríður's grandfather was Einar Andrésson, a rhymester who had been suspected of witchcraft.
She returned with him to Sweden, where he was studying with sculptor Carl Milles.
In 1931, shortly after returning to Iceland, Gunnfríður created her first sculpture, A Dreaming Boy.
Her best known sculpture, Land in Sight, carved from Norwegian granite, was dedicated at Strandarkirkja in 1950.
The work commemorates a local tale of a sailor, lost at sea during a terrible storm, who was guided to shore by a shining female figure.