Rzadki przedwojenny plakat Stefana Norblina z widokiem Wilna.

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Vilnius Travel Poster (Polish State Railways, 1928). Poster (24.25 X 40″).
Stefan Norblin (1892-1952) studied in Antwerp and Dresden, perfecting his Art Deco style, and during the interwar years worked extensively in his native Warsaw as a painter, portraitist, interior designer and illustrator. He was commissioned by the Polish State Railways to create a series of posters promoting tourism, including the one presented here featuring the city of Vilnius. The artist left Poland in 1939 to paint the royal family of Iraq, and then moved to India to design the interior of the Maharaja’s palace. Not wanting to return to a post-WWII Communist ruled Poland, Norblin and his wife (European movie star Lena Zelichowska) went into exile in San Francisco. There, he enjoyed success as a portrait artist for the likes of Amadeo Giannini, founder of Bank of America, and General Douglas MacArthur. In 1952, Norblin was struck with glaucoma and committed suicide. Much of his work went largely forgotten until the 1990s, when a German art historian “discovered” Norblin’s work in Indian. A new appreciation for the artist’s talent has emerged, making this beautiful poster a wonderful find. As a historical side note, the city promoted on the poster, Vilnius (Wilno), is now the capital of Lithuania, but was occupied by Poland at various times in the early 20th century. Touchup has been applied to a top left corner chip and a small nick in the top right corner, the only minor handling that keeps the poster from a higher grade. Fine/Very Fine on Linen.

Heritage. July 19, 2014.