Mrs. Potter Palmer
1896
Medium
Etching in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image/plate: 23.9 × 16 cm (9 7/16 × 6 5/16 in.); Sheet: 32.8 × 25.6 cm (12 15/16 × 10 1/8 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
195909
Art Historical Context
Anders Zorn's *Mrs. Potter Palmer* (1896) is a masterful etching that captures the elegance of Bertha Honoré Palmer, a leading figure in Chicago's Gilded Age society. As the wife of department store magnate Potter Palmer, she was renowned for her philanthropy and role in organizing the 1893 World's Columbian. Zorn, a celebrated Swedish artist (1860–1920), created this intimate portrait during his acclaimed tour of the United States, showcasing his prowess in translating the glamour of high society into print. Rendered in black ink on luxurious ivory laid paper, the etching measures a compact ...
About the Artist
Anders Zorn · 1860–1920
Anders Zorn (1860–1920), one of Sweden's most celebrated artists, was born on February 18 in Utmeland near Mora in Dalarna, and raised on his maternal grandparents' farm in the nearby hamlet of Yvraden. Displaying prodigious talent from a young age, he attended school in Mora Strand until age twelve, followed by secondary grammar school in Enköping, where he excelled in drawing people and horses. ...