Júlíana Sveinsdóttir is among the the first Icelandic women to establish a professional career in art. She is educated by Þórarinn B. Þorláksson in Iceland and from 1912–17 at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. Sveinsdóttir spends most of her working life in Denmark, and she actively participates in artistic life. She is an early member of the Society of Women Artists (KKS), which works for increased female representation and the building of artist networks.

Throughout her life, she maintains a strong connection to her homeland, and Icelandic nature is Sveinsdóttir’s main motif and an inexhaustible source of inspiration.

Under the title “Between Denmark and Iceland”, a wide selection of her textiles and paintings is exhibited at Tønder Kunstmuseum and Sophienholm Kunsthal 2016–1017, and she is today a highly sought-after artist at auction.