 While he was a student at the Uppsala University, he was impressed with the late currents of Gothicismus.He was an employee at the Swedish Royal Library in the period 1839-1856, the director of the Royal Theatres, 1856-1860, and the Chargé d'affaires in Empire of Brazil, 1860-1864.Gunnar was early interested in the collection of fairy tales and legends, and together with George Stephens, he published the first collection of "Svenska folksagor och äfventyr" in 1844-1849.