Stellan Skarsgård has won the public vote! His portrait to be added to the National Portrait Gallery

Publicerad 2026-02-20

In connection with the ongoing portrait exhibition, Nationalmuseum took the opportunity to ask visitors and followers whom they would most like to see represented in the National Portrait Gallery of Sweden, which is continually expanding.

Out of the 22 preselected candidates – ranging from researchers, actors and elite athletes to musicians – actor Stellan Skarsgård received the highest number of votes.

An existing photographic portrait taken by the German-born photographer Martin Schoeller (b. 1968) has now been acquired. The portrait of Skarsgård was taken in 2015 and is an intimate close-up. Schoeller began his career in Germany and later moved to the United States, where he developed a series of portraits of public figures, all photographed in the same consistent manner

Once the Stellan Skarsgård portrait has been delivered from New York, it will be mounted and framed. The aim is to complete this in time for it to be shown in the exhibition Portraits! which runs until 15 March.