ANDERS LEONARD ZORN (Swedish, 1860-1920)
Entering the Cellar, 1916
Oil on canvas
38-1/2 x 29 inches (97.8 x 73.7 cm)
Signed and dated lower right: Zorn / 1916

PROPERTY SOLD TO BENEFIT SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY AND BISHOP LYNCH HIGH SCHOOL

PROVENANCE:
European private collection, acquired mid-1970s;
Sotheby's, London, The Scandinavian Sale, May 30, 2008, lot 246.
Private collection, Dallas.

NOTE:
The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by the Zornsamlingarna (Zorn Committee) in Mora, Sweden.

Anders Zorn occupies an enviable place in art history. His name is invariably included as a member of an illustrious quartet of late nineteenth-century/early twentieth century masters of the art of premier coup (direct stroke) oil technique. The names which are customarily linked are: American expatriate John Singer Sargent, Spain's masterful painter Joaquin Sorolla, Italy's most noted portrait painter Giovanni Boldini, and Scandinavia's most important impressionist Anders Zorn. These four, working contemporaneously, were the standard-bearers of the direct stroke impressionists discipline in their era.
After traveling extensively in the 1880's, Zorn settled in his hometown, where he quickly earned an international reputation for his portraits that gained him acclaim based principally upon his incisive ability to depict the individual character of his model. On his journeys throughout North America, Zorn painted portraits in California, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. He spent time in Philadelphia, Princeton, New Jersey, New Orleans, San Antonio, and Miami. His successes and reputation continued to bring him important commissions including Presidential portraits of Grover Cleveland in 1899, as well as his wife, along with William H. Taft and Theodore Roosevelt. Zorn also captured elegant likenesses of Isabella Stewart Gardner, whose museum in Boston contains works by Zorn. Of all the countries Zorn traveled, including lengthy stays in England, France, Spain, and Germany, he enjoyed the greatest patronage for his portraits and the largest market for his etchings in the United States.
Although primarily a portrait painter, Zorn's other compositions are fresh, direct, animated and frequently unconventional in his depiction of rustic life, traditional customs, nudes and realistic depictions of water.
Zorn's health deteriorated markedly during his last years. He died on August 22, 1920. The funeral was conducted by Archbishop Nathan Söderblom and attended among others by representatives of the Swedish royal family and many cultural personalities. He is buried in Mora Cemetery.
Emma Zorn survived her husband by 21 years. She died on January 4, 1942. To honor the memory of her husband, she had worked to create a museum, which opened in 1939. She completed the existing collection by re-purchasing a number of paintings that he had sold and at the same time she continued the philanthropic work that the Zorns had initiated together (from Zorn Collections - Mora).
Some of Anders Zorn's most important works can be seen at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Stockholm, Musée d'Orsay in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The Zorn Collections in Mora and Garberg, Älvdalen, consist of four museums dedicated to the life and works of Anders Zorn. The main museum - Zornmuseet - was designed by Ragnar Östberg and opened in 1939. Shown there are extensive works of Zorn and his collected art by Rembrandt van Rijn, 'The Hovingham Master' (Poussin's follower), Bruno Liljefors, Albert Edelfelt, and Pehr Hilleström.


Alternate Artist Spellings: "Anders Leonard Zorn", "Zorn, Anders", "Zorn, Anders Lenard", "Zorn, Anders Leonard"

Glue-lined canvas; minor frame wear along extreme right edge; appear to be several small minor surface abrasions in lower left quadrant and several minor linear suface abrasions along bottom edge; under UV exam, appear to be scattered minor flecks of in-painting, but professional varnish layer makes painting surface difficult to read; Framed Dimensions 46.5 X 36.5 Inches