Email from Claes Hallgren to professor W. Ross Johnston, honorary research curator at The State Library of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, 2010-12-08:
I got a request about Oscar Friström from my friend Håkan Wahlquist at the Ethnographical Museum in Stockholm. I am sending you three excerpts from a chapter about the Swedish expedition to Kimberley 1910-1911. Before returning to Sweden the members visited all the big cities in Australia (Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane). In Brisbane they met Friström and he is mentioned in the diary of the leader of the expedition, Eric Mjöberg and in the diary of the taxidermist Cyrus Widell and he is also mentioned by Mjöberg in his book about the expedition. Two other members of the expedition were present I Brisbane; Rudold Söderberg, ornithologist and Yngve Laurell ethnographer, but if they wrote diaries for this part of the journey, these have not been found.
The information in the excerpts about Friström is quite trivial separated from its context, but I send it anyway as it is amusing and some of it may possibly be of interest.
Referring to the e-mail sent to you by Håkan the two paintings at the museum were presented by Eric Weinberg. Eric Weinberg could possibly be one of Mjöberg´s upper-class acquaintances. I know that Mjöberg privately owned some ethnographic objects and that when he was destitute later in his life sold them off and possibly Weinberg bought the paintings and later on donated them to the museum even as early as 1914.
Below you will find the three excerpts. All the dates refer to 1911. I must emphasize that the text is a first version and the English has not yet been corrected, but I suppose you are more interested in the facts and these are not affected by grammatical mistakes.
The same day afforded a scene, which possibly explain why Mjöberg did not write anything in his large diary for some days (and there is a possibility that his reference to another diary is some sort of cover up, that is, it may never have existed). Widell tells the story:
Yesterday evening Mjöberg came here with two Swedes. Mjöberg was already quite tight. Whisky was ordered and then a dreadful drinking started. Mjöberg made quite a lot of silly speeches for the Swedes and so on. One of the two strangers was an artist, the other one a businessman and both of them had been away from Sweden for a long time. Another bottle of whisky was ordered and Mjöberg became “the swine” and could hardly keep himself upright. The two strangers probably wondered at what kind of chief we had, boozing himself that drunk in the company of visitors. It ended in that we parted from the gentlemen and Laurell, Söderberg and I went out for an oyster supper. (W-l. 12/9)
The artist, by the name of Oscar Friström, seemed not to have taken offence by Mjöberg´s behaviour, as he established very cordial relations to all the expedition members, including Mjöberg. The business man is not mentioned again, but it may, of course have been many reasons for that.
In fact everyone visited Friström at his studio, already the next day.
Today, this morning, we went to the artist from yesterday and looked at his paintings. He is a portrait painter and had several good pictures. Among the paintings, two especially made an excellent impression. It was an old Negro King, the last of his tribe, and an old Negro woman, also being the last of her tribe. Mjöberg tried to get both of them for the National Museum of Sweden. (W-l. 12/9)
; <0x0a>Moreover, this evening also ended in boozing and on this occasion all expedition members participated. At the end of the evening Widell even got a painting by Friström as a gift (W-l. 14/9).
Mjöberg did in fact acquire the two paintings of Aborigines (or possibly two others similar to these), but not for the Swedish National Art Museum, as two pictures of an old Aboriginal man and an old Aboriginal woman are now in the possession of the Ethnographical Museum in Stockholm [This must be checked]. He even used a photo of another Aborigine painted by Friström to adorn the front of his coming book about his Queensland expedition and replicated it (both in colour) inside the book titling it "Cannibal from the Carpentaria coast" (Mjöberg 1918: 382).
In his diary Mjöberg just mentions Friström once telling that he took a photo of him when he was down to say goodbye when they were about to leave Brisbane once and for all on Indianic (HJM-g: 30/9, for HJ see below). The photo is included in his book (Mjöberg 1915: 499) and there he also makes a long and flattering presentation of him.
In Brisbane I had the pleasure to run across a Swedish artist, Mr. Oscar Friström, who had been away from his plot of native land in Blekinge [landscape in southern Sweden] for forty years. In his young years the merry lad emigrated and after many varying fortunes and adventures at land and at sea ended up in Brisbane, where he for many years has been able to gain an esteemed name as one of the best portrait painters in Australia. Friström has especially distinguished himself by a number of masterly performed oil-paintings of the original inhabitants, of which at present two can be found in the possession of the Ethnographic department of the Natural History Museum. Oscar Friström has his heart in the right place and is a kind and decent man, full of jokes and vigour. I shan´t forget the moment when I for the first time entered his studio in Queen Street. Around him was quite a crowd of pupils. When he learned that I was a Swede, he became so overwhelmingly happy that he resolutely turned his pupils out explaining they had to return another day.
Friström is a Blekinge-fellow in his temperament and character. If someone questions his rights, he would tell him straight. "I stick up against anybody" [in English], the small man of sunshine used to say, with a humorous twinkle in his eye. I do not know of anything illustrating this better than an episode happening to Friström, when he as a ship´s boy came to Liverpool about forty years ago. In the company of some men he entered a bar. In the way of the English, the man who offered the drink said: "Well, here is to your health" [in English]. Friström, who understood English badly got him wrong, however, and thought the English man had told him "Go to hell" [in English], but then his Viking blood boiled and he immediately exclaimed: "Well you can go to hell your self" [in English]. "Then I was given quite a beating, but that did me good", the small honest man meant, even today. (Mjöberg 1915: 498-500)
At half past 6 in the morning on the 23´d they left the Blackall Range and arrived in Brisbane the same day. The Indianic was now in the harbor and they lodged in the ship until their departure. There was a welcome-party in the evening, Mjöberg offering punch and the captain some refreshments. Widell had to stand some speeches from Mjöberg and later on they all ended up at Friström´s place. He offered them very Swedish dishes, herrings and hard bread to the delight of Widell (W-l. 23/9).
; <0x0d><0x0a>There is a gap here in Mjöberg´s writings as he finished his large diary on 22nd of September and starts a new diary on the 29th titled, Notes from the Home Journey (though it includes the two last days in Brisbane), which henceforth will be shortened HJM-g.
In Brisbane they had to wait for some days, while the Swedish ship took on a cargo of wool. Widell had little to do during this time but having a bit of sightseeing at daytime and going to bars in the evening in different companies. For the bar-visits he mentions Söderberg, the Captain, the first engine man "and some others" and also tells that Friström always was present (W-l. 25/ 27/ 29/9).
Widell does not comment on Mjöberg´s complaints, instead describing the departure in a sentimental mood.
Today put to sea from Brisbane at 1 p.m. Some hours before we put to sea quite a lot of Swedes we had acquainted in Brisbane came on board. We had some drinks together and so on. The one, who seemed most distressed to be left behind, was Oscar Friström, the artist. He was a genuine Swede, who had kept his feelings for the native country and was very unhappy about not being able to accompany us to Old Sweden, due to the circumstances of his life. He had, however, decided to return home the next year. We and Friström were out together every evening and had a very pleasant time on these occasions. He said goodbye to us and returned home, but went back again to the harbour to be able to have a last glance at us. We gave him a cheer a couple of times. The ship was made ready to depart, the gangway was withdrawn and the last mooring loosened and thrown on board. I could see Friström standing waving on the quay and waving again, but then he disappeared. Maybe we will never meet again in life, though I hope so. After a couple of hours journey on the river - that is, one has to travel for quite a distance on a river before getting into Brisbane - we were at the open sea - the Pacific. Well, life is like that, we meet and part, sometimes never to see each other again. (W-l. 30/9)
Important to know about the information in the online collection database
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