Lewis Larsson (14 March 1881 – 3 August 1958), was born Hol Lars Larsson in Nås, Sweden, and served as the '' de facto'' head of the

Photographic Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating 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 in many ...

Department of the American Colony in Jerusalem, British Mandate Palestine. 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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

, 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 thro ...

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 in Jerusalem

Larsson took the position of acting Swedish honorary consul and head of the Swedish consulate in Jerusalem in 1921, succeeding

Gustaf Dalman Gustaf Hermann Dalman (9 June 1855 – 19 August 1941) was a German Lutheran theologian and orientalist. He did extensive field work in Palestine before the First World War, collecting inscriptions, poetry, and proverbs. He also collected physica ...

who served in that position from 1903 to 1921. The new position caused him to cut back on his photography work with the American Colony. He became regular honorary consul in 1925 and served in this position until 1947.

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 1881 births 1958 deaths Consuls for Sweden Swedish photographers Photography in Palestine Photographers in Palestine (region) Ethnographers of Palestine (region) People from Vansbro Municipality