Before The Stove, 1903

Another version of this etching is in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Often dubbed the “Swedish Impressionist,” Anders Zorn was one of the most celebrated portraitists at the turn of the 20th century in France, England, and the U.S., as well as his native Sweden. Zorn was interested in art since childhood, first experimenting with sculpture but ultimately favoring painting as his primary medium. He attended the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts for a short time, but he admittedly learned little from his time at the institute and dropped out, spending the next years traveling and working across Europe and the U.S. By 1896, Zorn had grown tired of his nomadic life, and settled in his hometown of Mora.

Zorn alternated between the use of oil and watercolor paints in his work. He initially gained popularity after showing a somber watercolor painting of a veiled woman with down-cast eyes titled In Mourning at a student exhibition in 1880. The following years saw great commercial success for Zorn, as he earned a great deal of commissions from high profile patrons. In 1886, he completed the rural scene Our Daily Bread at the behest of the Swedish National Museum, now one of the artist’s most renowned watercolors. Other patrons included Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft, Isabella Stewart Gardener, Max Liebermann, and more. Zorn was even commissioned by the famed Uffizi Gallery in Florence to create a self-portrait. By 1890, he started painting nudes en plein air, taking inspiration from the dynamic between the unfettered body and the surrounding natural landscape.

In addition to his skill as a painter, Zorn excelled in etching, influenced by the Dutch master Rembrandt. Long, striated lines defined these works, which were also used to capture portraits of people like the artists Albert Engström (depicted above) and Prince Paul Troubetzkoy. Late 2019, the Springfield Art Museum in Missouri organized an exhibition of all 95 etchings in their permanent collection to showcase this side of Zorn’s career.

In 1939, the Zorn Museum was opened and still operates today, featuring the world’s largest collections of works by the artist, encompassing his paintings, sculpture, drawings, and etchings. Zorn’s works can also be found in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Nationalmuseum, Stockholm; Kunstmuseum Den Haag, The Hague; Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum, Boston; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and The British Museum, London, among others.