Lewis Larsson (1881 - 1958), was born Hol Lars Larsson in Nås, Sweden, and served as the ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' head of the

Photographic Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed i ...

Department of the

American Colony American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

in Jerusalem,

British Mandate Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...

. Larsson was renowned for his use of

photojournalism Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...

to record and document the cultures of the south

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

, primarily within the Palestinian region. Larsson was also a well respected diplomat of Sweden who acted as the vice consul and

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

to Jerusalem and in that role acted in the best interests of the American Colony.

Early life

Lewis Larsson was the only son of Hol Lars Larsson and Israels Brita Ersdotter born in Nås, Sweden. His father died when he was only three years old and he was raised by his mother. He was one of five siblings, with the other four being his sisters, two born out of wedlock. In 1896, many of the residents of Nås emigrated, following the evangelist Olof Henrik Larsson, to the American Colony. This included Lewis and his family, and in 1896 they traveled mostly by train to Jerusalem in order to wait the "Return of the Lord" Lewis married Edith Larson, the daughter of the evangelist Olaf Larson.

Career with the American Colony

Photography

At the age of 16, in 1897, Lewis Larsson began studying photography under the guidance of Elijah Meyers, the founder of the photography department in the American Colony. In 1904, Larsson succeeded him as head of the department, which was becoming quite profitable.

Swedish Consul General and Vice-Consul in Jerusalem

Larsson took the position of Swedish Consul General to Jerusalem in 1921, succeeding Gustav Herman Dalman who served in that position from 1911 to 1914. The new position caused him to cut back on his photography work with the American Colony.Lokkegaard, Frede ''Living Waters: Scandinavian Orientialist Studies'' pages 75-88

Later life

Photo gallery

References

*Gröndahl, Mia. “To Jerusalem. In the Steps of Eight Swedes and a Finn”. PASSIA, 2009. P. 37-65. *Gröndahl, Mia. "The Dream of Jerusalem. Lewis Larsson and the American Colony Photographers." Journal, 2005. Award-winning book with 320 photographs.

External links

Library of Congress American Colony Exhibit Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Larsson, Lewis Swedish photographers Photography in the State of Palestine 1881 births 1958 deaths Early photographers in Palestine Palestine ethnographers