Art Institute of Chicago

Mrs. Potter Palmer

Anders Leonard Zorn (Swedish, 1860–1920)LinkedCulture matchlcp-fa6f3e0731c2

Date: 1893
Medium: Oil on canvas
Culture: Sweden
Department: Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Institution: Art Institute of Chicago
Object ID: 81576

From the Art Institute of Chicago record

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 view in this gallery.

View at Art Institute of Chicago ↗

The authoritative record is held by Art Institute of Chicago. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.

Get printable QR codes

Open QR codes for this object page and the museum record. They stay collapsed until needed.

Open this page

See at Art Institute of Chicago

Provenance & credit

As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.

Credit line: Potter Palmer Collection
Provenance: Commissioned by Mrs. Potter Palmer (died 1918), Chicago, 1893; by descent in the Palmer family; given to the Art Institute, 1922.