LHAMO

The LHAMO work dates from Roerich's legendary five-year expedition through India and Central Asia. Shortly before the trip ended in April 1929, Roerich was nominated for the Nobel Peace prize and he returned to the United States a famous man, invited to the White House by President Hoover to discuss his findings. The University of Paris had commended his efforts to achieve 'peace through raising the cultural levels of nations, the constant promotion of brotherhood and the creation of culture and beauty in all spheres of life'. In his travel diary,   Roerich describes 'the inexhaustibly rich rock formations', 'fiery rocks' and 'intense blue sky' that are found in the present work. 'Nature, having no outlet, inscribed epics with their wealth of ornamentation, on the rocks. One perceives how the forms of imagery blend with the mountain atmosphere. Just those forms, thought out in the West, here begin to live and become convincing. One may expect the appearance of Kuan Yin [the Chinese Goddess of Mercy]; or Lhamo prepares the element of destruction; or the image of Mahakala may issue from the mass of the cliff. And how many enchanted stone knights await their liberation! How many enchanted helmets and swords are hidden in the chasms!'

Nicholas Roerich known also as Nikolai Konstantinovich Rerikh– was a Russian painter, writer, archaeologist, theosophist, perceived by some in Russia as an enlightener, philosopher, and public figure, who in his youth was influenced by a movement in Russian society around the spiritual.   Nicholas was interested in hypnosis and other spiritual practices and his paintings are said to have hypnotic expression. Born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a well-to-do notary public father of Baltic German ancestry and a Russian mother, he lived in various places around the world until his death in Naggar, Himachal Pradesh, India. Trained as an artist and a lawyer, his main interests were literature, philosophy, archaeology, and especially art.   Roerich was a dedicated activist for the cause of preserving art and architecture during times of war. He earned several nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize long list. The so-called Roerich Pact was signed into law by the United States and most nations of the Pan-American Union in April 1935.