"Girl from Mora Skiing," Anders Zorn, 1915.

Zorn (1860-1920) was a Swedish painter, sculptor, and printmaker, who for a while was a popular portraitist. His portraits include various members of Swedish royalty, and three U.S. Presidents: Grover Cleveland, William Howard Taft, and Theodore Roosevelt.

In 1910, after traveling widely, he and his wife settled near the Swedish town of Mora (his home is now a museum), where he was struck by the rural traditions of people around him. At the time, there was some concern about traditional ways being displaced by modernism, and much of Zorn's work of this period reflects that.

Here we have a peasant woman in traditional attire, skiing through a pine forest, a VERY traditional image. She looks over her shoulder at us, as if asking if we're going to join in. Or perhaps one last glance at a way of life that may be vanishing.

Internationally acclaimed in his life, he established Sweden's Bellman Prize, awarded to outstanding Swedish poets, on his death in 1920.

Now go watch the Olympics!

From a private collection.

#Art #AndersZorn #WomenInArt #Skis #WinterOlympics #TraditionVsModernism