. The picture shows unusual intimacy, with the woman sitting on the man’s knee, with her arm around his shoulders, and the children all close to each other.
An unknown family with three children. This informal, intimate portrait departs from the carefully staged family photographs of the period. Judging by the clothing, the image was taken in the mid-1860s. Photographer unknown.

City Faces

Svenska

By combining historical photographs, biographical data and digital facial recognition, Stockholm’s 19th-century faces are brought to life.

Visit the exhibition

When: March 11, 2026–February 28, 2027
Where: Temporary exhibition, floor 0
Free admission

In the 1860s, portrait photography exploded in Stockholm. Studios opened, photo albums became fashionable, and everyone wanted to be immortalized: maids, wholesalers, factory workers, and sailors. The City Museum’s collection contains 400,000 of these portraits. But who were they?

In a project bringing together several fields of research, historical photographs have been matched with biographical data about Stockholm residents from 1860–1930. Using digital facial recognition, researchers have examined these photographs and identified many previously unknown people.

Now you can meet some of these individuals in an exhibition about photography, memory, power, and mystery.

The exhibition is the result of the project “City Faces”, funded by the Swedish Research Council.

Pictures in the exhibition

 

Click on an image to view it in full size (new window)

Hildur Larsson married the wholesale merchant Rikard Slöör in 1899 at the age of 18. Here she is reclining on a polar bear, like an Oriental harem lady. Photo: Frans G. Klemming, in his studio at Hamngatan 38.
Karl Elmblad, equipped with notebook and pen. A fitting portrait, as he later worked as a clerk and bookkeeper. Photo: A Jonsson, in his studio at Götgatan 3.
Mr. Arbman with his dog. Arbman is fashionably dressed in checkered trousers and he has impressive sideburns. He also carries a cane, an important status symbol. Photo: Wilhelm Lundberg, circa 1865, in his studio at 9 Stortorget.
Ingeborg Hultkrans, née Rappe, with her children. The clothes and hairstyles date the picture to the mid-1860s. Photographer unknown.

Lift ramp to the exhibition

There is a separate entrance with a lift ramp for wheelchair users, supporting up to 225 kilograms. For heavier wheelchairs or mobility scooters, standard wheelchairs are available for temporary use.

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