NIKOLAI ROERICH (RUSSIAN 1874-1947) Secrets of the Walls, 1920 tempera and pastel on canvas 50.5 x 76 cm (19 7/8 x 30 in.) monogrammed lower left PROVENANCE Collection of John T. Spaulding, Boston, 1920s Private Collection, California, until 1957 Private Collection, acquired from the above Sotheby's, New York, April 21-22, 2009, lot 44 Acquired at the above by the present owner EXHIBITEDKingor Galleries, New York, December 1920-January 1921 Boston Art Club, Boston, February 1921 LITERATURE Christian Brinton, The Nicholas Roerich Exhibition (New York, 1921), ex. cat., no. 174 Corona Mundi International Art Center, Roerich (New York: Corona Mundi International Art Center, 1924), pl. [35] (illustrated) Grant, Frances R., et al., Roerich. Himalaya. A Monograph (New York: Bretano's, 1926), p. 198 Elena Yakovleva, N.K. Roerich's Theater and Decorative Art (Czech Republic, 1996), p. 70 (illustrated) LOT NOTES The composition of Secrets of the Walls is nearly devoid of human presence, with the two lone figures dwarfed by the stern edges of the fortress and the promise of mountainous wilderness beyond its gates. As observed by Liudmila Korotkina, nature, in [Roerich's] mind, is inseparably linked with human activities (see: Nicolay Roerich, (Leningdrad: Aurora, 1976), p. 6). The man-made landscape, in its pathetic fallacy, appears victorious in its ability to endure over generations of men passing by its walls. The bold combinations of burnt oranges and sparkling yellows contrast with the plum purples, showing the living fortress bathed in the midday sun.