OM FREDRIK

Against the promise never to start smoking, he received 1000 kroner from his parents on his 18th birthday. With the money, he bought the graphic sheet by Miró, which is still in the estate's possession. This laid the foundation for Fredrik Roos' art collection, at one time one of the world's largest private collections and valued at between 200 and 400 million kroner at his death in June 1991. Fredrik Roos, or Figge, as he was called, was the Malmö boy who left town early. First a year in Switzerland, later boarding school in Sigtuna, then studies at Handels in Stockholm. He had apartments in Stockholm, Paris and London, where he lived for many years, and zug in Switzerland, where he was listed when he passed away, aged 40. Nevertheless, more than anyone else of his generation, he has contributed to consolidating Malmö's identity as a city of art.

Despite coming from one of the dominant families of the Scanian money aristocracy, he chose not to pursue a career within the family-owned banking empire. Instead, he single-handedly made a name for himself, both in the world of finance and art. Today he is perhaps remembered, nationally as well as internationally, as the founder of a private museum, whose significance for Swedish cultural life can hardly be overestimated.

What drove him to build up the large collection? What made him invest millions in Rooseum? The view of Fredrik Roos as an art collector is divided. Most people who knew him believe that he was driven in equal parts by a genuine interest and the insight to never miss a good deal. Nevertheless, it is the image of passionate collector that prevails. He knew what he wanted - the American Neo-Expressionists Julian Schnabel and Jean-Michel Basquiat are among those whose work he took an immediate liking to and immediately bought. Among Swedish artists Jan Svenungsson, Max Book, Eva Löfdahl and Stig Sjölund were some of those he invested in very early on.

The best art collectors are said to buy with both "eyes and ears". Fredrik Roos also used "mouth and nose". His love for art was almost physical and his appetite for new works insatiable. Buying after only seeing a work in a photograph, common in the 1980s, was almost unthinkable for him. He wanted to see his purchases in reality, touch them, feel the physical presence of his investments. Seemingly tireless, on his recurring buying trips to New York he could visit 20-30 galleries a day. He visited the artists in their studios and could spend hours in conversation with them. He had total confidence in his own judgment, rarely regretted a purchase, and never fretted over misinvestments. Nevertheless, or perhaps precisely because of this, he occasionally sold his collection. The works of the older Swedish artists, for example Gösta Adrian Nilsson, the circle around Dardel, and Olle Baertling, were sold in good time, at good prices. The profits were immediately invested in contemporary art. he could buy entire exhibitions, sometimes the day before the opening. no one said no when Figge asked for a preview. Because when Fredrik Roos bought, it was a signal that this was an artist whose work would increase in value. Sometimes he seemed so obsessed with contemporary art that many forgot that he was also a polished stockbroker, who made a fortune from stock trading and wise investments. It is easy to imagine that he wanted to give his collection a dignified setting in the cathedral-like Rörsjöverket.

It has also been speculated that he wanted to build a memorial to himself. but insofar as it was a tribute, it was to grandfather Axel, founder of Skånska Banken in 1935 and also the father, with the same name.
Fredrik Roos was very aware of both the ties to the fathers of Scanian industrialism, and the family tradition of operating without being too visible. He rarely spoke of his own importance to Swedish artistic life, but was evidently proud of the Rooseum. He became deeply involved in both the reconstruction and the exhibitions - but also knew how to give freedom to both architects and exhibition commissioners.

Fredrik Roos never considered settling permanently in Malmö, even though he acquired an overnight apartment next to the Rooseum. But the longing for his roots in Scania became stronger during his last years. When the plans to create a private museum on Kastellholmen in Stockholm dragged on, it was natural to look around for a building in Malmö. "A five-star attraction with super quality as a profile" and with Louisiana in Humlebaeck as the closest model, was what he had in mind when, via his company Parafront, in 1986 he bought the old power plant that was empty. The older generation of Roos strongly disliked the name Rooseum, as it was considered contrary to the discreet profile of the family. With customary stubbornness, he insisted, and today the play on words appears as a genius summary of two different sides of his personality: on the one hand the art lover and private person Fredrik Roos, on the other the patron who wanted to document one of the most important eras in Swedish art for posterity.

Text by Lilith Waltenberg