Book excerpt: The "painters' painter," Anders Zorn (1860–1920) studied at the Stockholm Royal Academy of Art and took up residence in London and Paris, where he established an international roster of high-society clients. His striking portraits rivaled those of his contemporary John Singer Sargent in their popularity. Zorn excelled at both watercolor and oil painting, and his etchings are of the highest quality. Uninhibited by the limitations of the medium, the Swedish artist exhibited complete mastery of the plate, bending the art form to suit his own direction. His etchings display the same characteristics and likeness of his paintings, consisting chiefly of portraits and genre scenes. This collection of Zorn's finest etchings, which date from 1883 to 1918, features art from the 1922 Verlag Ernst Arnold edition. An ideal showcase of Zorn's artistic style and technical ability, this book provides a captivating gallery of people in repose and in motion—making music, riding horses, boating, and swimming. Some of the etchings are nude, others depict the fashions of the day. This new edition is enriched by a Foreword by James Gurney, author of Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter and Imaginative Realism.