Richard Sööt

The work, referring to the epic poem of Kalevipoeg, represents the desire of the Estonian refugee artist of New York and the entire Estonian population there not to dissolve in the anonymity of the world city, but to preserve their language and culture. The fact that it was this work that found favour in its own time is shown by the news of the newspaper Vaba Eesti Sõna from 17 July 1975, according to which the work received an audience award. The romantic work with an Art Nouveau flowing line approach depicts Linda in Estonian folk costume, which had a special significance in preserving its identity in the refugee community, while the star in the sky adds faith and hope for a better future.
More information about Richard Sööt is available in the article of 10 October 2009, published in Sirp: ‘Richard Sööt (1903–2002) was born and raised in Estonia, where he studied interior design and architecture, founded the company Eesti Tarbekunst, and managed the Artists’ Cooperative Decoration Workshop. In 1944, Sööt emigrated to Germany, and then to the United States of America. He had an active creative period in the US, where most of his work was completed.