Nicholas Roerich

Collection of Louis and Nettie Horch, New York (acquired directly from the artist)
Thence by descent

London, The Goupil Gallery, Nicolas Roerich. Spells of Russia, 1920, no. 139
Worthing, The Public Art Gallery, Nicolas Roerich. Spells of Russia, 1920, no. 144
New York, Kingor Galleries; Boston, Boston Art Club; Buffalo, Albright Art Gallery; Chicago, Art Institute; St Louis, City Art Museum; San Francisco, Museum of Art: The Nicholas Roerich Exhibition, 1920 and 1921, no. 85
Nicholas Roerich Museum, New York (permanent col.), 1923-1935, no. 85

The Goupil Gallery, Nicolas Roerich. Spells of Russia, 1920, p. 12  (as "A Russian Hut")
The Public Art Gallery, Worthing, Nicolas Roerich. Spells of Russia, 1920, p. 10  (as "A Russian Hut")
Christian Brinton, The Nicholas Roerich Exhibition, New York, 1921, no. 85 (as "A Russian Hut")
F. Grant et al. Roerich, Himalaya, A Monograph. New York: Brentano Publ., 1926, p. 197
Roerich Museum Catalogue, New York, 1930, p. 15  (as "A Russian Hut")

This painting is in very fresh and seemingly original condition. The canvas has not been removed from its original stretcher. The paint layer is stable, unvarnished and very fresh. A couple of small discolored retouches may have been added in the upper right, in the dark color and also in the upper left. Elsewhere, the paint layer seems to be in very healthy state without any damage or restoration. If the retouches were to be corrected slightly along the top edge, the picture could be hung as is. The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Born in St. Petersburg in 1874, Nicholas Roerich studied painting under Arkhip Kuindzhi at the St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts, and he later went on to study under Fernand Cormon in Paris. In 1905 Roerich began to exhibit in major European cities including London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Venice, and Brussels. He was appointed Academician in 1909 and was a member and later President of Mir Iskusstva, a revolutionary artistic group that sought the aesthetic revival of artistic tradition, particularly folk art, and the integration of the various forms of High Art, as best exemplified by Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, for which writers, composers, artists and performers collaborated to superb effect. While in Russia, Roerich's oeuvre was dominated with themes of legend and folklore; he worked with Stravinsky on Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring) and created set designs for numerous operas and plays. Roerich left Russia after the Bolshevik revolution, spending time in Scandanavia and Europe before settling in the United States for three years, from 1920-23. Robert Harshe, director of the Chicago Art Institute, organized a touring exhibition of his artwork which received considerable attention, dramatically introducing Roerich to an American audience. The art critic Olin Downes commented, "In the midst of our modern society, so positive and so limited, [Roerich] gives to his fellow artists a prophetic example of the goal they must reach—the expression of the Inner Life" (as quoted in Jacqueline Decter, Nicholas Roerich: The Life and Art of a Russian Master, 1989). Roerich set off for the Far East in 1923 and traveled extensively throughout Asia for the next five years. His canvases from that period, mostly landscapes of mountain ranges, are infused with mystical and spiritual references. In 1929 he settled in the Kullu Valley of Northern India, and he continued to travel extensively and organize expeditions until the end of the 1930s. During his very prolific career, Roerich painted about four thousand canvases, including the present lot.

While living in London in 1919, awaiting visas for his family to travel to India, Roerich was commissioned by Sir Thomas Beecham, founder of the London Philharmonic and Royal Philharmonic, to design sets for the Royal Opera's production of The Tale of Tsar Saltan. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's four-act opera was composed in 1899-1900 and was based on the eponymous poem by Alexander Pushkin. The story begins with three sisters, the youngest of whom is selected by Tsar Saltan to be his wife (the others his cook and his weaver). The older sisters become jealous of the new bride, and, when she gives birth to a boy while the Tsar is at war, they send word to Saltan that his son, Gvidon, is a monster. Falling for the sisters' ruse, the Tsar orders the Tsaritsa and child be locked in a barrel and thrown to the sea. The ocean takes pity on the pair and washes them upon the shores of the isolated island of Buyan. When exploring the island, Gvidon saves a magical swan from the tangles of a kite, and in thanks she creates a city for the Prince to rule. He becomes homesick, however, so with the help of the swan he returns to the court (under various guises: fly, bee, mosquito) but finds no comfort. Feeling defeated and lonely, the Prince asks the swan for a wife, and she reveals herself to be a beautiful princess. The unwitting Tsar Saltan attends their wedding celebration, where at last he meets his long lost son and begs forgiveness for his cruelty.

While working on his opera design in August of 1919, Roerich wrote to a friend, "It's been almost a month [that I've been] in London, working on Tsar Saltan..." By October of that year, he finished his suite for the production, which incidentally was never performed, but included approximately a dozen large décors and numerous smaller sketches and costume designs. In the present painting, Roerich depicts the opening scene of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera, where the three sisters are sitting at spinning wheels in their hut, discussing what each would do if she were Queen. He seems to have combined the solid feeling of a wooden interior from his work for Yaroslavna's chambers from Prince Igor with the intense, fiery energy of Oze's rooms from Peer Gynt. The result is a cozier atmosphere with subtle touches of Indian tonality (as Roerich himself called it), as the fluid, soft lines and deep mustard color suffuse the painting with a warm and intimate glow. Alluding to the winter outside, he accentuates this inviting feeling with touches of icy blue, as the door, slightly ajar, makes the interior all the more alluring. The open and welcoming composition, as well as the artist's choice of color and technique, masterfully embodies the mood of the scene at hand.

This painting is number 9, Izbushka, suita Tsar Sultan, in the artist's handwritten listing of paintings for the year 1919 (MS in the Nicholas Roerich Museum archives).