Eric Frisell

Eric Frisell, dated 1917, is one of the late male portraits in which Zorn's mature style reached its fullest economy. Frisell was a Swedish figure — the name is distinctly Swedish — likely from the professional or business class that formed the core of Zorn's domestic clientele in his later years. By 1917 the artist had no need to seek commissions: subjects came to him at Mora, and the paintings of this period have the unhurried authority of an artist working entirely on his own terms. Late portraits like this one are valued for their psychological directness — without the social anxiety of a younger artist's ambitious commissions, Zorn painted the faces before him with absolute honesty. The work joins a series of 1917 male portraits that collectively document the Swedish professional world of the early twentieth century with extraordinary fidelity.

Oil on canvas with Zorn's most economical late handling: broadly established tonal masses in the dark suit, a carefully modelled face, and a warm background field that grounds but does not divert. The alla prima technique leaves evidence of the brushstrokes' sequence, revealing the confident progression from dark to light.