1893
oil
canvas
From the collection of Art Institute of Chicago
Mrs. Potter Palmer is a 1893 oil by Anders Zorn, a Impressionism work, held at Art Institute of Chicago.
You see a woman holding a small gavel in this painting. She's sitting in a chair, looking confident. The story behind this portrait is interesting - it was made for a specific reason, to show the woman's importance in a big event. The woman in the painting, Mrs. Potter Palmer, was a key figure in the World's Columbian Exposition. She led a group of women who organized a special building for the event. This painting shows her authority and strength. You can learn more about the style used in this portrait by looking into the technique of glazing.
This portrait shows Bertha Palmer holding the ivory gavel she used to preside over meetings of the Board of Lady Managers for the World’s Columbian Exposition, which opened in Chicago in 1893. The board, with Palmer as president, was responsible for organizing the Women’s Building at the fair. Palmer requested Swedish portraitist Anders Zorn for this painting because his impressionistic style was in keeping with her taste as a collector, which was considered radical at the time. While organizing the Exposition, Palmer traveled through Europe acquiring Impressionist works, including several on…
Commissioned by Mrs. Potter Palmer (died 1918), Chicago, 1893; by descent in the Palmer family; given to the Art Institute, 1922.
Sarasota, Fla., John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Palmer Family Collections, February 23-March 24, 1963. Mora, Sweden, Zorn Museum, Anders Zorn, June 1-August 20, 1989; Kiel, Germany, Kunsthalle zu Kiel, September 3-October 22, 1989; Copenhagen, Statens Museum for Kunst, November 1, 1989-January 10, 1990. Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago’s Dream, A World’s Treasure: The Art Institute of Chicago 1893-1993, 1993, no cat. no. Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde, Anders Zorn: till ögats fröjd och nationens förgyllning, September 15-December 11, 1994, cat. 59; Göteborgs Konstmuseum, December…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Anders Leonard Zorn was born in February 1860 in Mora, Dalarna, the illegitimate son of a Bavarian brewer and a Swedish farmer's daughter; his mother died shortly after his birth, and his grandparents raised him.
See the richer artist pageYour cart is empty
Explore artworks →
