Gudmar Olovson

In the mid-1960s, Gudmar Olovson became acquainted with publisher and director Lars Schimdt, who was running the Théâtre de Montparnasse in Paris. At this time, Schimdt was married to the world-famous actress Ingrid Bergman. Schmidt commissioned Olovson to produce a sculpture of Ingrid in 1965 when she was playing Hedda Gabler at the theatre in Paris. Olovson’s studio was not far from the theatre and Ingrid was able to pop in and model during her breaks.

The finished sculpture was displayed in the foyer of the Théâtre de Montparnasse until Lars Schimdt was no longer working there. It was then moved to his private home outside Paris. Gudmar made another version of the sculpture in pink marble, the first and only time he worked in this material. In 1985 the sculpture was exhibited at Kennedy Galleries in New York and passed into new ownership. In spring 2019, Bo Hjelt, Jonas af Jocknick and Adolf Lundin donated the sculpture to the Royal Dramatic Theatre (Dramaten) in Stockholm, where it now sits in the Marble Foyer. In bronze, the sculpture is found on the island of Fjällbacka and in the State Portrait Collection at Gripsholm.

Ingrid Bergman was very pleased with the portrait, writing to Gudmar Olovson in 1980:

Dear Gudmar,
You the poet who has left the Nordic world to settle in France, where you dream and express yourself in bronze and marble, you have finally made up your mind to exhibit some of your work.

I would like the audience that now discovers you, to experience the fresh sensuality and yearning I felt that day I stepped over the threshold of your studio.

It is necessary to mention, that the bust you have made of me is a source of happiness for me and for admiration to my friends.

Good luck
Ingrid Bergman