Svyatoslav Nikolaevich
Roerich
1904-1993
Svyatoslav Nikolaevich Roerich is a Russian and Indian artist, public figure, collector of Oriental art, honourary member of the USSR Academy of Arts (1978). The main genres of paintings are landscapes, portraits, and symbolic compositions. The son of Nikolai and Elena Roerich. He was born on October 23, 1904 in St. Petersburg, where he spent the first twelve years of his life. Since early childhood, he showed interest in natural sciences and artistic pursuits. His mother, Elena Ivanovna, supported his hobbies by providing him with the necessary books and materials for his collections. Svyatoslav studied at Karl May Gymnasium in St. Petersburg until 1916, then continued his studies in London from 1919 at the Royal Academy of Arts, where he studied architecture. A year later, he moved to the United States, where he studied at Columbia and Harvard Universities and at the same time attended the sculpture department of the University of Massachusetts. In America, Svyatoslav actively participated in the work of cultural and educational organizations founded by his parents. At the age of 19 he became the head of the Corona Mundi International Art Centre, and later became vice president of the Nikolai Roerich Museum in New York. In 1923, he visited India for the first time, where he became acquainted with Indian culture and began collecting a collection of oriental art, which was almost lost after his death. After returning to the United States in 1924, he continued to run cultural institutions associated with his father’s name and kept in touch with his parents during their Central Asian expedition. Svyatoslav developed his artistic skills, becoming a famous portraitist, and created about 30 portraits of his father, one of which was acquired by the Luxembourg Museum in Paris. Despite his father’s influence, his style remained unique and independent. His work spanned a variety of genres, including landscape, epic and symbolic painting. Since 1931, living in India, Svyatoslav actively participated in the social and cultural life of the country, singing its cultural heritage in his paintings. After 1947, he assisted in the signing of the Roerich Pact by the Indian government, and was also involved in the preservation of monuments of ancient Indian culture. During the Second World War, Svyatoslav aspired to join the Red Army, but was refused, however, he transferred funds from the sale of paintings in favour of the Red Cross of the USSR. He headed the natural science department of the Urusvati Institute of Himalayan Studies, engaged in a variety of scientific research and combining them with philosophical views. Svyatoslav developed and disseminated the ideas of Living Ethics, considering art an important tool for the spiritual development of mankind. In his teaching career, he supported a Bangalore-based school on moral and ethical education and artistic development of children. Svyatoslav founded the Chitrakala Parishad Cultural and Educational Arts Centre in Bangalore, which became part of the university. For his contribution to culture and peacemaking, he was awarded various orders and prizes, including the Indian Padma Bhushan Order and the Soviet Order of Friendship of Peoples. His first exhibition in the USSR took place in 1960 in Moscow, then exhibitions were held in other cities of the country. In 1989, on the initiative of Svyatoslav Nikolaevich, the Soviet Roerichs Foundation was established, to which he transferred the family heritage. In 1991 a monument was erected in Moscow in memory of Svyatoslav Roerich.
Address: Moscow, Volkhonka St., 14, building 8
