Who was Anders Zorn?

       Currently, at the Palace of the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco, there is an exhibition of the work of one of Sweden's most famous artists and cultural heroes, Anders Zorn.  Born in Sweden in 1860, he died there in 1920 at age 60 after a remarkable career as a much respected painter, demonstrating a unique talent across various media that was influenced by French Impressionists and the new realism after the rise of photography, the turn of the century Modernist school, and the rise of international patrons from Paris to New York.
      His father was a German brewmaster and his mother a Swedish woman who worked for the father.  They never married, but Anders was properly educated and early on displayed talent and interest in painting and drawing.  Married at 21 to Emma, who became a frequent model and subject of many works, he traveled extensively to North Africa, the Middle east, Western Europe, and North America.
      The exhibition follows the timeline of his life and his professional development and changing styles.   Early in his career, he had become a magnificent painter in watercolors, using detail to emphasize light and dark.  He was especially fascinated with light on water, painting many seascapes that capture the environmental subtlety of wind on water.   He and Emma often traveled to the many islands off the coast of Sweden to find suitable scenes for him to paint.
     As he matured, he began to diversify media to include oil painting, etching in copper, and developing a portraiture style found irresistable to wealthy patrons, including former US president Taft and Theodore Roosevelt.
      He returned to his home town of Mona, where he continued to paint and sculpt until his death.  His paintings of Swedish folk festivals are considered national treasures.   A museum dedicated to his life and work was opened in 1949 with most of his estate donated by his widow, Emma, who died in 1942.
     What a pleasure to view this man's incredible lifework.