Sweden, 1896-1920

I entitle this chapter Sweden, not because this is where he spent the remainder of his days - he continued to travel the world throughout his life - I call it “Sweden” because he returned home in 1896 and used Mora as his base camp. It was from here he hosted his receptions for guests, dinners, and other engagements. It was from here - his home studio – that he finished many of his paintings. This was Zorn’s own territory, an area where he reigned as King.
In 1897 he went to St Petersburg for a Scandinavian exhibition and received honours in the process. In 1900 Zorn was the commissioner for the Swedish camp at the World fair in Paris. As a commissioner you were not allowed to participate in the contests, and hence not able to compete for the much sought after medals. It was down to Zorn to decide upon the placements of the paintings and to ensure the exhibition looked professional. Naturally, he placed his own work in the best locations, at eye-height and in the middle sections of walling. Then, one day out of the blue, before the jury were to judge the paintings and rate them, Zorn gave up his title as commissioner due to “sudden illness”. This illness of convenience meant Zorn could now compete in the contest; however, colleagues rejected this move and became suspicious of this self-claimed illness. Zorn was forced to embellish his act, and did so by placing himself in a wheelchair! The jury members bought it, and Zorn took home the gold medal for oil painting. The next day he was up and walking as usual.
This was Anders Zorn in a nutshell: not caring much for medals and ribbons as decoration at the people he portrayed, but for himself, this “proof of success” remained very important and appreciated.