Farewell Zorns (recto); Farewell Deerings (verso) 1880 - 1920

Anders Zorn made this sketch, "Farewell Zorns," with ink on paper. The immediacy of ink invites a directness that other mediums like painting might not. Here, Zorn is just thinking aloud on paper. The quick strokes, the layering of images, and the script writing all speak to the artist's hand, making visible the labor involved in the artwork’s production, offering a glimpse into the creative process itself. But who were the Zorns and Deerings? Perhaps the image is a statement about class and social status, a farewell to a certain way of life. The use of ink and paper, humble materials, underscores the personal nature of the sketch, while also highlighting the social distance between artist and subject. In the end, it reminds us that art is not just about the final product, but also about the materials, the making, and the context in which it was created.