Emeric Kelen, 
Hungarian 1896-1978- 
Indian Round-Table Conference 1930; 
hand coloured lithographs,...

Emeric Kelen, 
Hungarian 1896-1978- 

Indian Round-Table Conference 1930; 

hand coloured lithographs, each signed and inscribed 'Kelen' or 'Kelen / London' within the plate, each variously titled within the plate, the title page inscribed 'For Kind acceptance of Her Excellency / Lady Willingdon / CI CBE / From sincere friend / Nizam of Hyderabad VII / 1931' (upper edge), each 38.4 x 27.9 cm., fifty-two (52)., (unframed, in folio). ARR. 

Provenance: 
The Collection of Lady Willingdon (1875-1960). 
Private Collection, UK. 

Note: 
The present work was a gift to Lady Willingdon from Mir Osman Ali Khan (1886-1967), the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad State, and the last ruling monarch before annexation, by India, in September 1948 through a military operation code named Operation Polo. Marie Freeman-Thomas, Lady Willingdon, was married to Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon (1866-1941), who served as the Governor-General of Canada (1926-1931) and Viceroy of India (1931-1936). 

Kelen produced caricatures and cartoons of political figures in inter-war Europe of the 1920s and 1930s, often collaborating with Alois Derso (1888-1964), whom he met in 1922. He was particularly well-known for his depictions of conferences, including the 1925 Locarno Conference, the 1932 World Disarmament Conference, the 1933 London Economic Conference, and the ongoing conferences of the League of Nations. He also produced cartoons of the participants of the three Round Table Conferences held in 1930-1932, a series of peace conferences organised by the British Government and Indian political figures to discuss constitutional reforms in India, and it is from one of these that the present set of caricatures originates.