Anders Zorn

Acquired from the artist by Gotfried Rystedt;
Thence by descent to Märtha Munch of Rosenschiöld, Gothenburg;
Thence by descent to a collector;
His sale ("Property of a Private Collector"), London, Christie's, 16 March 1989, lot 313;
There purchased by the present collector.

Stockholm, Liljevachs Konsthall, Minnesutställningen, 1920, no. 62;
Stockholm, Liljevachs Konsthall, Minnesutställningen, 1930, no. 286;
Halmstad, Halmstads Museiförening, Konst i Halmstadshem, 1943, no. 103 (as Lyssnerskan);
Gothenburg, Göteborgs Konstmuseum, Minnesutställning till 100 års minnet av Zorns födelse, November 1960 - January 1961, no. 62;
Leningrad, Anders Zorn, Bruno Liljefors, 1967, no. 46.

G. Boethius, Zorn, Tecknaren, Malaren, Etsaren, Skulptören, Stockholm, 1949, p. 551, listed.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This quick yet lively and accurate oil sketch is painted onto canvas which has subsequently been mounted onto Masonite. The Masonite is flat and the mounting is acceptable. It seems that Zorn may have pinned this piece of canvas to a support in order to paint this picture and pinholes are visible in the corners. The paint layer is probably slightly dirty and there are a few small scuffs and losses in the legs of the figure. There appear to be no actual retouches anywhere to the picture and our advice would be to lightly clean the painting but to be very sparing with retouching. The painting is in lovely condition.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Towards the turn of the century, following his international successes in America and across Europe as a society portrait painter, Zorn became increasingly interested in the history and ancient traditions of his native village of Mora and its wider cultural territories, which were beginning to disappear as a result of industrialization and urbanization. In 1905, the year he painted the present work, he bought an ancient cabin in Gopsmor, a parish north-west of Mora. The simple, ritualistic way of life of the local people, with whom he felt a deep affinity, and the geographical isolation of Gopsmor, became a refuge. Here, undisturbed, the artist usually spent his summers pursuing his already famous theme of the local girls' daily routine: awakening, bathing, dressing, and performing domestic chores. Some models in this long series are shown nude, others in the bright local dress of the Dalarna region. Typically, the girl in Kuvådörren celebrates both healthy femininity and the vivid folk life that thrived in Sweden's rural communities such as Mora-Gopsmor. At a time when Sweden was fast industrialising, Zorn now preferred to spend his summers in the relaxed intimacy of primitive surroundings. Lit only by glowing embers and thin shafts of sunlight, the cabin's interior was sparsely furnished in a traditional manner.