Anders Zorn (Mora, 1860 - 1920, Mora)
Reading (Mr. and Mrs. Charles Deering), 1893
Etching on wove paper, Additional Dimension (framed): 20 3/4 x 16 3/16 in. (52.7 x 41.1 cm)
37.1 x 28.4 cm (14 5/8 x 11 3/16 in.)
This etching depicts a couple, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Deering. Mr. Deering, who wears a dark bandage over his eye to our right is seen sitting in the background listening to his wife as she reads to him. He is smoking a pipe and has dark hair, beard, and mustache. He appears to be wearing a light-colored jacket with lapels. Mrs. Deering is seen in profile, facing toward our right. She has her hair fashioned up in a bun at the top. Her face is in shadows as she holds a brightly lit book. Her clothing is light-colored and loosely drawn. This piece is signed and dated on the lower right corner, “Zorn 1893” and is inscribed in pencil in the lower margin, “till Isabella S. Gardner den Stora från Zorn”.
Short Gallery
Commentary
This intimate domestic scene of Marion Deering reading to her husband is one of Zorn’s finest double portraits. Wearing a bandage to conceal an eye injury, Charles Deering sits in the background listening intently and smoking a pipe. A wealthy Chicago businessman, Deering shares the title of Anders Zorn’s greatest American patron and friend with Isabella Gardner. Like Gardner, Deering first met Zorn at the 1893 Chicago’s World Fair, and started collecting his work on the spot.
Source: Anders Zorn: A European Artist Seduces America, special exhibition on view in the museum's Hostetter Gallery, February 28 – May, 2013.
Source: Anders Zorn: A European Artist Seduces America, special exhibition on view in the museum's Hostetter Gallery, February 28 – May, 2013.