Owe Zerge (1894–1983) was a Swedish painter who studied at the Royal Swedish Academy of Art in Stockholm and exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1921, where he won an honorable mention. Although his body of work comprises commissioned portraits, floral still lifes, and landscapes—it continually returns to one of his singular passions. His 1925 painting Sankt Sebastian—the model for which was Zerge’s “friend and travel companion” Hugo Holmer—was one of his favorites. Many times during his life Zerge was offered money for the piece, but it hung in his home until his death in 1983.
