Mimmi Gustafsson

Summary

Wilhelmina Sofia “Mimmi” Gustafsson (June 11, 1862 – June 13, 1949) ran a portrait studio at Götgatan 3 in Stockholm for roughly four decades, closing it in 1930 at age 68, with earlier photographic activity in Norrköping (1878–79) and Sundsvall (1884–85). She married photographer Viktor Kinell in 1891 — the couple ran joint studios as “Kinell & Co” while her own name stayed on the Götgatan 3 studio — and divorced in 1914. Nearly 8,400 of her glass negatives, discovered by chance in a Götgatan 3 attic cupboard in 1984, are held by Stockholms stadsmuseum: the museum's largest collection by a single woman photographer.

Focus areas: Photography · Stockholm · Women photographers

At a glance

Field

Photography · Stockholm

Location

Stockholm, Sweden

About the studio dates

Some references give Gustafsson's Stockholm studio as operating 1888–1920. SKBL, the scholarly biographical dictionary, records the Götgatan 3 studio operating until she closed it in 1930 at age 68, with dated photographs surviving from 1894–1919 and earlier photographic activity in Norrköping (1878–79) and Sundsvall (1884–85).

References · in priority order

1. SKBL: Mimmi Gustafssonskbl.se/en/article/MimmiGustafsson
2. Fotografregistret entryfotografregistret.se/mimmi-gustafsson

Sources

• Born June 11, 1862 in Uppsala; died June 13, 1949 in StockholmSKBL — Biographical Dictionary of Swedish Women
• Ran a portrait studio at Götgatan 3 in Stockholm for roughly four decades, closing it in 1930 at age 68SKBL — Biographical Dictionary of Swedish Women
• Married photographer Viktor Kinell in 1891; they ran joint studios as 'Kinell & Co' at Grev Turegatan 24B and Hamngatan 28 while her own name stayed on the Götgatan 3 studio; the couple divorced in 1914SKBL — Biographical Dictionary of Swedish Women
• Nearly 8,400 of her glass negatives are held by Stockholms stadsmuseum — the museum's largest collection by a single woman photographerSKBL — Biographical Dictionary of Swedish Women
• The negatives were discovered by chance in 1984 in an attic cupboard at Götgatan 3 and given to the Stockholm City MuseumWikipedia (sv)
• Earlier photographic activity in Norrköping (1878-1879) and Sundsvall (1884-1885); dated photographs survive from 1894-1919Fotografregistret