A TRIP TO THE
UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA
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With all their heart the Roerichs wanted to go to India. In London they bought steamboat tickets, but the trip had to be postponed. On the Instructions of the Great Teacher, they went to the United States of America.
In December of 1920, the family moved to New York. At that time George was eighteen and Svetoslav, sixteen. In America Nicholas Roerich held numerous exhibitions of his paintings, which were shown in twenty-eight cities. He also held lectures. On the Indications of the Mahatmas, he established in America several cultural establishments, including the Museum, to which he gave 300 of his paintings.
But Nicholas’ main focus was to prepare for his trip to Central Asia. For this he needed to enlist the official support of the USA, because England, from the very beginning, impeded the Roerich’s travel plans to India and Tibet.
During the family’s stay in England and America, the children studied intensely. Svetoslav studied architecture and painting, and George and his father prepared for their future trip. For this he learned languages, the history of the people of the Orient, and studied military operations.
George began his studies at London University, then continued them in the United States where he attended Harvard. He completed his education at the Sorbonne University in Paris. To accomplish this he moved to France one year before the arrival of his family.
The phenomenal capabilities of the Roerich’s senior son boggles the imagination. By the beginning of the trip to India in 1923, George, who was only twenty, could speak twelve langages fluently and could communicate in ten more languages (making a total of twenty-two languages). In addition, he was already a famous scientist in Europe.
