Gustaf Fröding by Morén & Goodwin

This portrait of the Swedish writer and poet Gustaf Fröding was taken in 1903 by the hospital supervisor Johan Morén at the Ulleråker Mental Institution. Confined as a patient for his mental issues, Fröding refused to leave his bed; this photo portrays him sitting in his hospital bed wearing a patient’s gown.

Originally this photo was intended to only be included in his journal, but in 1916 the hospital’s Chief physician Frey Svenson wanted this photo for his book Gustaf Frödings diktning. Bidrag till dess psykologi (The poems by Gustaf Fröding. What lies beneath). He contacted Hendry B. Goodwin, who at that time was Sweden’s most prominent portrait photographers, and asked him to make prints from the negative. Goodwin produced a handful of photo prints from the glass plate in his signature style and signed them “GOODWIN efter neg. av JOHAN MORÉN UPPSALA”