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Catalogue information
LastDodo number
6601207
Area
Drawings / paintings
Title
Shall we sit over here and discuss Asian peace?
Artist
Art object
Art Movement / style
Genre
Material
Technique used
Colouring
Dimensions
37.5 x 29 cm
Series / hero
Collection / set
Number
Addition to number
Year
1953
Country
Language
Details
Original editorial cartoon in pen/brush and ink for the San Francisco Chronicle, 1953, shows Soviet foreign minister Molotov taking a rather bemused-looking ‘UN’ to a quiet spot to discuss peace in Asia, while in the background ‘Red China’ trucks pass by taking ‘arms to Indochina’. Both the Soviet Union and Communist China were helping the North Vietnamese or Viet Minh in their war against the colonial power France which began in 1946 and would only end in 1954. ‘Old iron pants’, as Molotov was known in the West, was a hard and skilled negotiator who up to this point had prevented any meaningful progress in trying to negotiate a settlement for Indochina. During 1953 however there were various Soviet overtures for an international conference to try to settle the war between the French and the Vietnamese in Indochina. This was perhaps related to the death of Stalin or, more likely, a new strategy to try and get Communist China accepted as a member of the United Nations. The cartoonist is probably sceptical about the chances of success, although the Geneva Conference the following year did bring about a temporary solution to the conflict in Indochina. Card size 37.5 x 29 cm (15 x 11.5 inch), image size 34 x 25.5 cm, signed lower left, in very good condition.