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Portraits 1910–32. By John Alinder.
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Photographs by John Alinder
Dewi Lewis, England, 2021. 126 duo-tone illustrations, 8¾x11¼".
Framed by shimmering, dappled light, a young girl with pigtails and a bowtie stands with her eyes closed, two white rabbits positioned on a table by her side. In front of a wooden-slatted house, a dog sits on a stool, a pair of spectacles balanced precariously on his nose. Eccentric, joyous and tender, these images were taken a century ago by Swedish photographer John Alinder.
My lovely photographer and writer friend Alice Zoo recently alerted me to the work of Alinder, and then a few days later some of the late photographer’s portraits popped up on my Instagram feed. I was drawn to them and immediately intrigued. Once I’d ordered the book, it became a firm favourite that I already return to frequently. The discovery of his images feels like a best-kept secret.
Alinder’s vast archive has only been discovered relatively recently and the book covers the years between 1910-1932. Working from a small village called Sävasta in Upland, Sweden, he photographed those closest to him — his friends, his neighbours, his community. Having turned down a career managing the family farm, Alinder threw himself into image-making and storytelling, combining this with a stint running a country store and an illegal bar. He clearly knew everyone and everyone knew him.
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I haven’t visited this part of Sweden, but can imagine the long, languid summers and the portraits are often infused with a dreamy, luminous light. The images possess a lightness and a heartwarming familiarity. There are obvious echoes of August Sander and Mike Disafarmer, both making work at the same time, but in Alinder’s work there is a palpable closeness to his subjects, a relaxed ease rather than a formal, rigid pose. You get the feeling that Alinder and his subjects had fun during these portrait sessions, that the still air was punctuated with laughter and chatter. As a result, many of the portraits feel spirited and free.
Alinder clearly had a real affection for his subjects. Many of the portraits are untitled, but others reflect the diverse range of people he captured, including builders, mechanics, painters and even the ”bellows-treader” in church. The portraits are dignified and give each sitter space for their own expression. The maid is not photographed in her scullery, dowdily dressed, but instead sits surrounded by trees, an ornate brooch attached to her chequered dress, ribbons tied daintily on her shoes and a newspaper in her hand.
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Alinder’s sitters often dressed up for the occasion. It seems as if it became a local event, attracting varying ages and those from all walks of life. Not all of his subjects are centered in the frame and many appear in groups of friends and family. Two young ladies are perched high up in a tree, a young man poses to the right of the frame with his bicycle in the natural surroundings of entangled branches and summer leaves. Alinder’s subjects often brought along props from home for the portrait sessions and many of the sitters are captured with their pets. One of my favourites is an elderly woman sitting outside a charming-looking house on a grand, patterned chair to the left of the frame, white hair tied back in a bun and a tawny owl resting on her chest, simply captioned" Major Alstrôms wife with the owl” 1932.
From a more technical point of view, although there is a trend for uncoated paper in current photobooks and it lends the images a certain delicacy, I feel that sometimes such printing lacks a little depth and tonal range. That is not to detract from the quality of the publication — it is a beautiful book and an astonishing body of work. The images are a testament to a strong and meaningful connection between Alinder and those he photographed. I would dearly love to see these prints in real life. These are photographs that deserve to be treasured.
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