Anders Zorn occupies a singular position in Nordic art history—not only as an internationally celebrated portrait painter, but also as a pioneer of plein air painting. His studies of the nude, particularly those set in water and within the Swedish landscape, constitute some of the most distinctive and artistically sophisticated elements of his oeuvre.

Gustaf O. Wallenberg was a Swedish businessman, diplomat, and active politician. He was the son of André Oscar Wallenberg, founder of Stockholm Enskilda Bank (today's Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken, known as SEB). After a career in the Swedish Navy, he turned to the business world and was active in improving the transoceanic shipping industry.