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SALE 1821
Russian Paintings and Works of Art
New York
18 April 2007
LOT 34
Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich (1874-1947)
Ledenetz Palace. Drop-curtain for Rimskii-Korsakov's opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan
Price realised
USD 156,000
Estimate
USD 80,000 - USD 120,000
signed with the artist's monogram and dated 1919 (lower right)
tempera on canvas
14 x 20 in. (35.5 x 51 cm.)
Painted in 1919
Provenance
Roerich Museum Collection, 1921-1935.
Louis Horch Collection, New York, circa 1935.
By descent to the present owner.
Literature
Nicholas Roerich, List of Paintings 1917-1924. MS. Nicholas Roerich Museum Archive, No. 111 or 112.
The Nicholas Roerich Exhibition. With Introduction and Catalogue of the Paintings by Christian Brinton. 1920-1921-1922. New York: Redfield-Kendrick-Odell Company, 1921, No. 94.
Roerich. Himalaya. Articles by F.Grant and others. New York: Brentano's Publishers, 1926, p. 197.
Roerich Museum Catalogue. 8th ed. New York: Roerich Museum, 1930, No. 94.
Exhibited
Nicholas Roerich. Spells of Russia: Catalogue. The Goupil Gallery, London, 1920, No. 169.
The Nicholas Roerich exhibition, 1920, 1921, 1922, Catalogue of the Paintings by Christian Brinton, 1921, No. 94.
Post-Lot Text
Nikolai Roerich came to London in July 1919 and collaborated on several productions for the Royal Opera House, among them N. Rimskii-Korsakov's opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan. About a dozen stage designs and curtain sketches were completed for that production. Due to financial difficulties, the opera was never produced. Roerich always regretted that his stage designs were never realized. The artist noted that he attempted to give the Saltan somewhat of "an Indian tonality. The fairy-tale itself has an oriental flavor, besides, at that time we were already dreaming of going to India."
We would like to thank Gvido Trepsha of the Nicholas Roerich Museum for his assistance in cataloguing the present lot.
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