Gopsmor
Experience the feeling of encountering the ethos of Anders Zorn's painting at the Gopsmor Cottage, inspiringly situated beside the clear water of the Dalälven river.
In 1904 Zorn purchased some land on the bank of the Dalälven from his mother's brother Per. He then had a number of timber buildings moved there and gave it the name of Gopsmor. For him this became something of a refuge when public attention in Mora became too much and it came to be both a studio in the backwoods and an anglers cottage. Here he lived "in the style of his forefathers'" enjoying simple food and without the creature comforts of his Mora home Zorngården.
In Gopsmor Zorn organised what he called playhouses. Young people from the surrounding area came there and danced old country dances to the music of fiddlers playing tunes they had collected and, thanks to this intiative of Zorn, these were not lost to the afterworld. One of these dance evenings is the subject of the painting "Dance in Gopsmor Cottage" (1914). Zorn also took his friends to Gopsmor but they did not always enjoy the simple life there. As an example Karlfeldt was not accustomed to going about his personal morning chores in public, whereas Bruno Liljefors and Albert Engström thrived with the old customs. Zorn's models were responsible for the primitive household tasks.
Zorn always tried to stay at Gopsmor on at least two occasions during the year and was extremely pleased if there were more opportuniies. Particularly in the winter, in January, and in the summer, just before the midsummer solstice, he engaged in a busy period of painting at Gopsmor. His motifs were often nudes indoors or girls skiing outside but there were also some landscape paintings.
In 1970 when the Dalälven was dammed as part of the Spjutmo hydro-electric project Zorn's cottage was moved from its original position as this was to be flooded as part of the scheme. However it proved possible to find a very similar place and Gopsmor was then reconstructed there.
The seven buildings at Gopsmor are of considerable age. The oldest is a barn from Landobyn which Zorn used as a studio. It is dendrogerontologically dated to 1324-25 whereas the log cabin from Gopshus is from the middle of the sixteenth century. The cottage itself is from the nineteenth century.
Gopsmor is open to visitors on Saturdays and Sundays between 10-17 during July and August, admission costs SEK 30:-. Welcome to bring your own coffee!
The Gopsmor Days
4th July Making fishing flies. Come and try yourself!
18th July Ribbon weaving, Mora ribbons.
25th July Carving Dalarna wooden horses. Come and try yourself!
26th July Open air church service 1400 (admission free), Älvdalen Parish.
(Please, bring your own chair! Cancelled in the event of wet weather.)
1st August Dyeing with vegetable dyes by the water.
8th August Cutler at work.
22nd August Quadruple plaiting.
