Anders Zorn (Mora, 1860 - 1920, Mora)
Mrs. Potter Palmer, 1896
Etching on laid paper , 40 x 29.8 cm (15 3/4 x 11 3/4 in.)
This small vertical etching, which consists of black lines on off-white paper, shows a light-skinned, seated woman from about the waist up. The woman, who is probably middle-aged, is looking directly at us, lips parted. Her hair is upswept, and she appears to be wearing a tall hat rendered by dense vertical lines. To the right of her head there is a denser and taller patch of vertical lines. The woman appears to be wearing an open jacket with a raised collar over a dark blouse and perhaps a patterned scarf extending downward from her neck. The lines in the rest of the etching are sparse. The signature of the artist is on the plate at the lower left and in the margin at the lower right.
Short Gallery
Commentary
Swedish artist Anders Zorn first came to America as the commissioner of the Swedish art exhibition at the Chicago's World Fair in 1893. It was there that he met two women who would become important patrons for him: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Bertha Palmer. Mrs. Palmer was the President of the Board of Lady Managers for the Fair and was responsible for exhibits in the Women's Building. She chose Zorn to paint her portrait, now in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. He later made this etching of her which is one of many acquired by Isabella.