Anders Zorn

Anders Leonard Zorn was born 18 February 1860 in Sweden and built a career that moved across media: painting, sculpture, etching. His portrait work carried him into rooms most artists never see — King Oscar II sat for him, as did three American presidents in succession: Grover Cleveland, William H. Taft, and Theodore Roosevelt. By the time he reached international success, his name opened doors on both sides of the Atlantic. He died 22 August 1920, but not before founding the Bellman Prize for Swedish literature, a last turn toward words after a lifetime of images.