Nicholas Roerich

Collection of Louis and Nettie Horch, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner

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 painting seems to be in beautiful and most likely perfect condition. The canvas is unlined. The paint layer has never been cleaned and it has probably always been framed behind glass. We recommend that no restoration of any kind be carried out.
"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."

Nicholas Roerich spent the second half of August 1921 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He went there in part to get a break from the stressful New York lifestyle and also to indulge his interest in the famous spiritual sites of the Pueblo Indians. He brought back nearly a dozen desert and mountain landscape compositions, as well as several depictions of the pueblos of Santa Fe and Taos. The artist later wrote, "If you go through the fairyland of the Indian pueblos, listen to their wonderful songs and profound ceremonial dances... after seeing the rich fantasy of their totem poles and examining their household utensils, you will then know the feeling of Western Russia or Siberia. It all combines into evidence that strengthens the old legend that several Indian tribes migrated from Siberia and Alaska." These cross-cultural references might have inspired the artist to add the silhouette of the white horseman, a symbol of the coming messiah, in the clouds above the glorified abode of people who lived in harmony with the natural and spiritual worlds. In 1923, this concept of the coming messiah found its full realization in the series of the same title, and in his painting Legend, Roerich chose to again depict the pueblo as one of the composition's key iconographic elements.