http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2010/important-russian-art-n08694/lot.18.html
IMPORTANT RUSSIAN ART
04 NOVEMBER 2010 | 10:00 AM EDT
NEW YORK
18
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, NEW JERSEY
Estimate 120,000 — 180,000 USD
LOT SOLD. 386,500 USD
Nicholas Roerich
1874-1947
THE SONG OF THE WATERFALL, SKETCH FOR THE DECORATIVE PANEL FROM THE DREAMS OF WISDOM SUITE
signed with artist's monogram and dated 1920 (lower left)
tempera on canvas
16 by 14 1/2 in., 41 by 37 cm
PROVENANCE
Collection of Louis and Nettie Horch, New York (acquired directly from the artist)
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner, circa 1977
EXHIBITED
New York, Kingor Galleries, The Nicholas Roerich Exhibition, December 1920-January 1921 (travelling exhibition, visiting the following locations among others)
Boston, Boston Art Club, February 1921
Buffalo, Albright Art Gallery, March 1921
Chicago, Art Institute, April-May 1921
St. Louis, City Art Museum, July 1921
San Francisco, Museum of Art, September-October 1921
Cleveland, Cleveland Museum of Art, 1922
New York, Nicholas Roerich Museum (permanent collection), 1924-1935
LITERATURE
C. Brinton, The Nicholas Roerich Exhibition, New York, 1921, no. 141
F. Grant et al., Roerich, Himalaya, A Monograph, New York, 1926, p. 198
Roerich Museum Catalogue, New York, 1930, p. 16
CATALOGUE NOTE
At the start of his artistic career, Roerich produced works on a variety of themes, namely designs for the theater and paintings depicting various church murals and mosaics, as well as scenes relating to the ancient Slavs. In 1918 the Roerich family made their way from Finland to London, where the artist created set designs for Diaghilev's production of Prince Igor. He also began work on his Dreams of Wisdom suite, comprising The Song of the Waterfall and The Song of Morning, among others, commissioned for a private residence in London in 1920 (now in the Nicholas Roerich Museum, New York). The present lot, a sketch for the former of these monumental, decorative panels, provides an early indicator of Roerich's budding fascination with the Far East.
This lot is accompanied by original bank notes from Nicholas Roerich to Louis Horch, each signed by Nicholas Roerich and dated circa 1922-1923.