Nicholas Roerich. Maker of the Future

Nicholas Roerich (1874 -1947), was a genial painter who produced 7000 paintings, a philosopher, writer, explorer, cultural leader and a great Russian patriot. The canvases of N.K. Roerich are a treasure trove of images, filled with spiritual beauty such as the mighty Himalayas, saints and ascetics of the East and West, as well as heroes of legends and epics. The painter’s wife and inspiration was Helena Ivanovna Roerich (1879 - 1955), a philosopher, writer and translator. She wrote fourteen books about the Teaching of Living Ethics (Agni Yoga), called by the academic A.L. Yanshin, ‘The World Ethical System’. An outstanding contribution to world culture, science and art was made by Roerich’s two sons, Yuri (George) Nikolayevich (1902 - 1960), a prominent scientist-orientalist and Svetoslav Nikolayevich (1904 - 1993), a distinguished artist and public figure. ‘The Banner of Peace’ was proposed by the painter as the banner for the protection of cultural values. ‘If all the world were covered with the ‘Banner’ for the protection of the treasures of true culture’, wrote N.K. Roerich, ‘we would have no place and opportunity to feud and make war’. NICHOLAS ROERICH MUSEUM Studio of The Siberian Roerich Society