Art by Anders Zorn

Anders Leonard Zorn (February 18, 1860 – August 22, 1920) was one of Sweden’s foremost artists who obtained international success as a painter, sculptor and printmaker in etching.
Zorn was born in the parish of Yvraden, in Mora, Dalarna. He was raised on his grandparents farmyard in Yvraden, studying at the age of twelve in the school at Morastrand and progressing during the autumn of 1872 to a secondary grammar school in Enköping.

He studied at Royal Swedish Academy of Arts in Stockholm, Sweden from 1875-1880. He traveled extensively to London, Paris, the Balkans, Spain, Italy and the United States, becoming an international success as one of the most acclaimed painters of his era. While his early works were often brilliant, luminous watercolors, by 1887 he had switched firmly to oils. Zorn painted portraits, scenes depicting rustic life and customs. Zorn is also famous for his nude paintings and realistic depictions of water.

It was primarily his skill as a portrait painter that gained Zorn international acclaim based principally upon his incisive ability to depict the individual character of his model. His subjects included three American Presidents, one of whom was Grover Cleveland in 1899. At 29, he was made Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur at the Exposition Universelle 1889 Paris World Fair.