In Mourning was shown at the student exhibition at the Academy in 1880 where it gained a great deal of attention and was applauded by by critic Carl Rupert Nyblom who described it as being “very modern”. This attention meant a great deal to Zorn who was able to sell a large number of variations on the same theme, while his increasing fame meant that his commissions for portraits increased. The proceeds enabled him to take a trip abroad in the following year.