Greta Garbo Statue of Integrity

This statue of Hollywood icon Greta Garbo has purposely been installed in an (as yet) undisclosed location deep in a Swedish forest. Just as the great star would have wanted — alone and far from the spotlight.

“The Statue of Integrity” was created by Icelandic artist Jón Leifsson as a complement and companion piece to the exhibition The Image of Garbo at the Stockholm photography museum, Fotografiska. Garbo was born in Stockholm in 1905, a city that still reveres this daughter of a factory worker and street sweeper. She would become one of the most famous and wealthy screen stars of all time, living out her life in Hollywood and then New York City, but she never lost ties with her Swedish roots.

Although Garbo was a world famous actress and beauty, ranked as the fifth greatest female screen legend of all time by the American Film Institute, she never really welcomed her fame. She is known just as much for avoiding events, crowds and fans as she is for her storied film career. Even an honorary Oscar in 1955 couldn’t drag her out of the house, instead having actress Nancy Kelly pick it up for her.

So it seems only natural and logical that Fotografiska would honor her integrity and well-known avoidance of people by placing this memorial statue far from crowds and fans, and place it instead in a secret part of the dense forest in the province of Härjedalen, surrounded by nothing by trees and birds who don’t ask her for her autograph.