archaeologist painter philosopher theosophist writer
Ethnicity:
His father was of Baltic German ancestry and his mother was Russian.
Nicholas Roerich was born on October 9, 1874 in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire (present-day Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). He was a son of Konstantin Roerich, a lawyer, and Maria Vasilievna (Kalashnikova) Roerich, a notary.
In autumn 1893, Nicholas entered both the Imperial Academy of Arts to study drawing and Saint Petersburg University (present-day Saint Petersburg State University) to study Law. In 1898, he graduated from Saint Petersburg University with a Law degree.
Between 1901 and 1904, Roerich made a pilgrimage through Russia. During that period, he produced seventy five paintings. In 1904, Nicholas took part in Louisiana Purchase Exposition, which was held in Saint Louis, Missouri. Since 1906 to 1917, he held the post of a director of the School for Encouragement of Fine Arts under the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts.
In 1920, the Roerichs migrated to the United States under the auspices of the Art Institute of Chicago. Nicholas established a number of institutions with the aim of bringing humanity together through education, art and culture. He traveled extensively and spent much time in Eastern countries, which strongly influenced his philosophy.
In December 1920, he exhibited his paintings in New York City. There, earlier that year, Roerich and his wife, Helena, founded a spiritual movement — Agni Yoga Society, an offshoot of Theosophy. Their followers included Henry Wallace, Franklin Roosevelt's secretary of agriculture (and later vice-president). His proponents built a museum for him in Manhattan and sponsored him on two expeditions to Asia.
From 1920 onward, Roerich's painting took on an Asiatic, mystical character, featuring gods, gurus and Himalayan mountainscapes. In December 1923, the Roerich family began an extended exploration of India and its neighbouring regions in a quest for the Eastern spirituality, that had come to play an increasingly important role in Roerich’s thinking and artistic output. The family established the Urusvati Himalayan Research Institute in 1928 in the Himalayan foothills of the Kullu valley in Himachal Pradesh. Despite the fact, that the family continued to travel extensively, they made Himachal Pradesh their home.
In 1934-1935, Roerich, bankrolled by Henry Wallace and the United States government, traveled to Manchuria and Mongolia. The expedition stirred up great scandal, leading Wallace and most of Roerich's supporters to break with him by 1936. Roerich's United States assets were seized. After that, the Roerichs remained in India, supporting the freedom movement there and befriending its leaders, such as poet Rabindranath Tagore and a politician Jawaharlal Nehru.
Nicholas Roerich was a renowned painter, set designer, writer, theosophist and archaeologist. He initiated numerous institutions, including Cor Ardens society, Corona Mundi, Agni Yoga Society, Master Institute of United Arts and Himalayan Research Institute. Also, he was the author of Roerich Pact — an early international instrument, protecting cultural property.
During his lifetime, he received many awards, including Order of Saint Sava, National Order of the Legion of Honour, Order of Saint Stanislaus and others. Also, Roerich was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1929, 1932 and 1935.
His work are kept in the collections of different museums, including Roerich Department of the State Museum of Oriental Arts in Moscow, the Roerich Museum at the International Centre of the Roerichs in Moscow, the Russian State Museum in Saint Petersburg, the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, the National Gallery for Foreign Art in Sofia, Bulgaria and others.
(This book is an inspiring record of the Roerich Central A...)
1929(The "Realm of Light" is the Sixth Volume of the American ...)
1931Nicholas Roerich was a member of Bose Institute (Calcutta) and La Société du Salon d'Automne.
Nicholas married Helena Ivanovna Roerich in 1901. Their marriage produced two sons — George de Roerich, a tibetologist, and Svetoslav Roerich, a painter.
