Rare and unseen, Roerich’s 14 works to be on display at CKP

Bangalore: Art aficionados in the city can feast their eyes on some of the rare paintings of noted Russian painter Svetoslav Nikolaevich Roerich. For the first time, the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath (KCP) will put on display its 14 prized possessions for three days from October 26.
KCP general secretary D K Chowta said these paintings were kept in a room at the Parishath for want of space. ”Roerich had donated 117 paintings to the Parishath.These include some works of his father Nicholas Roerich. Of them, 113 are on display at the Roerich section. The remaining 14 will now be exhibited on Svetoslav’s 110th birth anniversary,” he said.
Chowta, who found the paintings in the room, felt that they needed to be exhibited and appreciated. The oil paintings on canvas are of folk women, skyscapes, village and portraits. “We will find a space to display these paintings at the Parishath after the exhibition. We’d like to highlight the link between Roerich and the KCP,” he added.
THE INDIAN BOND
Svetoslav Roerich (October 23, 1904-January 30, 1993), who lived in Himachal Pradesh and Bangalore for many years, was a Padma Bhushan awardee. In 1945, he married actor Devika Rani, known as ‘The first lady of the Indian screen.’ He lived with Devika in their Tataguni estate on Kanakapura Road. After their deaths, the estate got involved in litigation and the case is still pending in courts.