Stefan Norblin and his wife were associated with Warsaw. However, after the outbreak of war, they left Poland in September 1939. In 1940, however, their Indian adventure began.

From Poland to India - Norblin's wartime wanderings
Stefan Norblin (1892-1952), or rather Juliusz Stefan Norblin for La Gourdaine, was the great-grandson of Jan Piotr Norblin (1745-1830), a painter and draughtsman of the Stanislaus era. With his wife, the popular actress Helena (Lena) Żelichowska (1910-1958), he was associated with Warsaw, but after the outbreak of the Second World War the couple left Poland forever. Through Romania and Turkey, they both made their way to Baghdad, where Norblin was commissioned to make, among other things, portraits of members of the Iraqi royal family and diplomatic corps.

At the end of 1940, the artist settled with his wife in India. He worked in Bombay, where he mainly created portraits of representatives of the local elite. In turn, in the residences in Morwi (Morbi), Patna and the new palaces of Umaid Bhawan and Sardar Samand (in Jodhpur), built at the behest of Umaid Singh (1903-1947), the Maharaja of Marwar in Rajasthan, he painted portraits of rulers and their families, created wall paintings, oil paintings with mythological and historical scenes. He also designed interiors in the palaces in Morwar and Dźodhpur in an art déco style.

Conservation of Norblin's works in Dźodhpura
In 2006, conservation work began in Dźodhpur on Stefan Norblin's works, damaged mainly by climatic conditions. The work was carried out by Polish conservators, under the direction of Józef Steciński, together with Indian specialists. The work was coordinated by the Polish Ministry of Culture and the Polish Embassy and Polish Institute in New Delhi. Meanwhile, finances were obtained by the Association of Conservators of Monuments from funds from the Programme of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage 'Protection of Cultural Heritage Abroad'.

Conservation work first covered six wall paintings in the Oriental Hall of the palace in Umaid Bhawan (mythological-religious scenes depicting the story of Rama and Sita from the Old Indian epic Ramayana), followed by wall paintings in the exhibition hall (scenes from the history of Jodhpur) and a glass painting in the maharani (wife of the maharaja) suite. Subsequent stages included the conservation of easel paintings from the maharaja's hunting lodge and his suite. The conservation work was completed in February 2011. Stefan Norblin's designs for the interiors of the Umaid Bhawan palace have also been preserved in the collection in Dźodhpur. These were subjected to conservation treatment by specialists from the State Archives in Olsztyn in 2008.

Today, the Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur, owned by Maharaja Gaj Singh II, is open to the public and, along with the Mehrangarh Fort, is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Rajasthan.

Norblin and his Indian heritage - a series of events
Following the completion of the conservation work in Dźodhpur, a programme of events in India related to the life and work of Stefan Norblin in that country was prepared. This was a series of events carried out during the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, including as part of the cultural programme of the Polish Presidency in 2011. These were: the exhibition 'Stefan Norblin (1892-1952). Versatile Artist' ('Stefan Norblin (1892-1952). Master of Many Arts') at the Regional Museum in Stalowa Wola, the National Gallery of Contemporary Art in New Delhi and its branch in Mumbai; the documentary film 'Chitraanjali. Stefan Norblin in India' ('Chitraanjali. Stefan Norblin in India'), directed by Małgorzata Skiba, and the album Stefan Norblin, edited by Professor Anna Sieradzka.

The symbolic closure of the project was the bringing to Poland from San Francisco and burial of the ashes of Stefan Norblin and his wife, Lena Żelichowska, found by Dr Agnieszka Kasprzak. The campaign to find the burial place and bring the artists' ashes to Poland was funded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. Contrary to earlier information, the ashes of Stefan Norblin and his wife were not scattered by the bay in San Francisco, but were deposited in two different cemeteries near that city. With the permission of his son, Andrew Norblin, they were brought to Poland. The funeral mass was held on 12 October 2012 at St Charles Borromeo Church. The urns were laid to rest in the Norblin family tomb at Stare Powązki.

On the same day, in Warsaw's Bielany district, at Gdańska Street, in Stawy Kellera park - the place where Stefan built his house, called Kaskada - a commemorative plaque, funded by the district authorities, was unveiled, and in the evening the opening of the exhibition Art Out of Time took place. Stefan Norblin (1892-1952) at the Poster Museum in Wilanów. Paintings and works from Polish collections were on display, with an emphasis on the role of the poster, as well as an American collection from San Francisco, owned by the Polish Arts and Culture Foundation.

Memory of Stefan Norblin and his works - contemporary
The popularisation of topics related to Stefan Norblin's artistic legacy in India is currently being continued by the Polonics Institute. In 2018, a documentary film was produced, 'Ramayana from the palace in Jodhpur. A recovered strand of Stefan Norblin's work', which takes a closer look at the artist's life and work, particularly the Indian strand. It complements the film 'Eternal Fire', an animated tale based on the Ramayana, created on Stefan Norblin's paintings adorning the Maharaja's palace in Dźodhpura. Both films, directed by Piotr Janowczyk, were supervised by Dr Agnieszka Kasprzak. She is also the author of a doctoral dissertation on Norblin's work, particularly its Indian and later American history. The book prepared on the basis of this thesis will be published in the Polonica Institute's scientific series 'Studies and Materials'.

The Polonica Institute has not forgotten the younger audience either. They can get to know the story of Stefan Norblin and his work in the palace of an Indian maharaja by reading articles or following the adventures of Pola and Niki, characters from a series of animated children's films produced on behalf of the Polonika Institute by the company "Osorno. Krzysztof Czeczot".