Large, magnificent museums such as the Metropolitan and MOMA are certainly wonderful places to visit and experience great works of art. But there is also something to be said for the very small museum that is dedicated to an individual artist or style. Such is the case with the Nicholas Roerich Museum on West 107th Street in Manhattan. Roerich was a Russian polymath from the whose life and career spans three quarters of the twentieth century. His contributions to many areas gained him great recognition. For musicians, Roerich is best known for his designs for such legendary works as Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps.
Visiting this museum is almost like visiting the man himself as it contains paintings and artifacts (mainly from India, central Asia and Russia) that reveal his breadth and depth of interests. He was attracted to mystical ideas and places and his paintings (and those of one of his sons, Svetoslov Roerich) brilliantly evoke such ideas. The paintings of the museum are posted online at the Nicholas Roerich Museum but can only hint at the richness of the "real things."
The museum is not only a wonderful, elegant place to see art. There is also a regular series of readings and musical performances in a salon setting. On the day I visited, a pianist gave a recital of works by Ravel, Chopin, Scriabin and Ryan Francis. It was a very pleasant performance and perfect for a Sunday afternoon salon recital. I wish the performer had spent more time studying the works to perform them with more insight and with a recreation of their true natures. However, for people not familiar with the works I am sure the performance was quite satisfying.
I know there are many other similar small museums around NYC and I look forward to experiencing more of them at some point in my stay.
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