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.
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