Watercolor and pen on paper.
Dimensions in frame: 24x26 cm (14x14.5)
The work comes from a sketchbook dating from around 1925.
Attribution: Stefan Norblin, born Juliusz Stefan Norblin de la Gourdaine (Warsaw 1892–1952 San Francisco)—Polish visual artist, painter, caricaturist, illustrator, and poster artist, interior, architectural, and fashion designer. His works included modernist and Art Nouveau advertising posters as well as Art Deco-style paintings. His great-grandfather was the painter Piotr Norblin. He studied painting in Antwerp and Dresden. In 1920, Stefan Norblin took part in the Polish–Soviet War. After the war, he returned to Warsaw, where he married Lena Żelichowska, a well-known actress and dancer at the time. In September 1939, he left the country for Romania; on the journey, he was accompanied not only by his wife but also by Marian Hemar. During the occupation, the Norblins planned to seek refuge in the United States, which they intended to reach via Asia. During World War II, Norblin stayed in Persia and then in India, where he created a series of paintings for Maharaja Umaid Singh of Jodhpur to decorate the interior of Umaid Bhawan Palace, the largest private residence in the country. He also painted portraits of the local aristocracy and decorated their residences. After the war, he settled permanently in the United States, where he earned a living as a portrait painter. In 2007, Telewizja Polska produced a documentary titled *Stefan Norblin*, chronicling the artist’s life. In 2011, the documentary *Chitraanjali* was also released.
