After revolution events in 1917 Finland had closed a border with Russia and Roerich with his family turned out isolated from Motherland.

In 1919, having received an invitation from Sweden, N.Roerich traveled with exhibitions around Scandinavian countries, and in autumn of the same year, on Diaghilev’s invitation, he designed Russian operas to the music of M. Mussorgsky and A. Borodin in London.

In 1920, N. Roerich got an invitation from the Director of the Chicago Institute of Arts to organize a big exhibition tour around 30 cities of the USA. Among 115 his paintings the following were exhibited: “Angel’s treasure” (1905), “The last angel” (1912), “Viking’s daughter” (1917), “Call of the sun” (1918), “Ecstasy” (1917), series “Heroism” and “Dreams of the East” et al. The exhibitions were a great success. In America, N. Roerich created the following series: “Sancta”, “New Mexico”, Ocean’s suite”, “Dreams of wisdom” et al.

In America he had found the cultural and enlightener organizations, which became a great cultural centers and consolidated around them many prominent art figures. On November, 1921, the Master Institute of United Arts was opened in New York. It’s main purpose was to bring peoples together through culture and art.

Almost at the same time, artists association “Cor Ardens” (“Blazing Hearts”) was established in Chicago, and in 1922, the International Cultural Center “Corona Mundi” (“Crown of the World”) appeared. On November, 1923, Nicholas Roerich Museum in New York was opened. It contained a rich collection of the artist’s paintings.

Sale of the paintings, fees for theatric performances, publication of numerous articles, gain from activity of American cultural and enlightener organizations gave N. Roerich a possibility to accomplish a scientific expedition in Central Asia. In December 2, 1923, N. Roerich and his family arrived in India, which attracted the attention of N. Roerich not only as a painter, but as a scientist interested in a number of problems related to ancient peoples’ world migrations, and search for a common source of Slavic and Indian cultures. From here a path of the expedition in hard-to-reach areas of Central Asia was began. Later N. Roerich written: “Besides artistic tasks of our expedition we have intended to clarify a situation with relics of the past of Central Asia, to observe modern state of religion, customs, and to register the traces of great migration of peoples. This last task was always close to me”. The expedition’s extremely difficult itinerary ran through Sikkim, Kashmir, Ladakh, China (Sintzian), Russia (including Moscow), Siberia, Altai, Mongolia, Tibet, unstudied areas of Trans Himalayas. The expedition was continued from 1924 to 1928. Having realized Przewalski and Kozlov’s dream, Nicholas Roerich’s expedition became a triumph of Russian studies in Central Asia. In terms of its itinerary uniqueness and collected materials, it can justly claim for a special place among major expeditions of the 20th century.

Archeological and ethnographical investigations in unexplored Asian areas were conducted. For the first time, dozens of new mountain peaks and passes were marked on maps, rarest manuscripts were found, richest linguistic materials and folkloric works were collected, descriptions of local customs were made. Also during the expedition the books “Heart of Asia” and “Altai-Himalayas” were written, about five hundred paintings were created, on which the artist portrayed a beauty panorama of the expedition itinerary, a famous painting series “Himalayas” was began, the series “Maytreya”, “Sikkim’s Path”, “His country”, “The Teaches of the East” et al.

Extensive scientific material, collected by Roerichs during the expedition, required systematization and treatment. After the expedition ended in July 1928, in the Western Himalayas, Kullu Valley, N. Roerich founded the Institute of Himalayan Studies “Urusvati” what means in translation from Sanskrit “Light of the Morning Star”. In this place, Kullu valley, N. Roerich lived the last period of his life. Director of the Institute became George Roerich, elder son of N. Roerich, world-known orientalist. He directed ethnological and linguistic researches and also reconnaissance of archeological monuments. In the institute there were medical, zoological, botanical, biochemical and many other laboratories. Large work was conducted in the field of linguistics and Eastern philology. Rarest written sources of centuries-old remoteness were collected and translated in European languages; half-forgotten dialects were studied. Visiting specialists and acting workers collected botanical and zoological collections.

Tens scientific institutions from Asia, Europe and America collaborated with the Institute “Urusvati”. Scientific materials from Kullu came in University of Michigan, New York’s Botanical Garden, University of Punjab, Paris Museum of natural history, Harvard University in Cambridge, Botanical garden of USSR Academy of Sciences. Famous Soviet botanist and geneticist academician N.I. Vavilov appealed to institute “Urusvati” for scientific information and received from there the seeds for his unique botanical collection. Such famous scientists, as A. Einstein, L. de Broil, R. Milliken, Sven Guedin et al. also collaborated with the institute.