Harold Peiris (1904–1981) was a Sri Lankan lawyer, author, scholar, teacher, patron of the arts, and philanthropist. He was the co-founder of the
Lionel Wendt Art Centre
The Lionel Wendt Art Centre is a major art centre and theatre in Colombo, Sri Lanka, dedicated to the memory of Sri Lankan photographic artist Lionel Wendt. It combines live theatre and art exhibition, with two exhibition galleries and two thea ...
Colombo '43 Group
The '43 Group was a 20th-century modern art school established in August 1943 in Colombo, Sri Lanka (then British Ceylon).
The group was essentially an association of like-minded artists who had broken away from the Ceylon Society of Arts, led b ...
of artists and established the Sapumal Foundation.A houseful of art ''The Sunday Times'', Retrieved 9 June 2015The 43 Group, Harry Pieris and the Sapumal Foundation by Rohan de Soysa & Michael Roberts, Retrieved 10 December 2014 , Retrieved 9 June 2015
Born to a celebrated wealthy aristocratic family, he was the only son of Charles Peiris, the younger brother of the more famous Sir
James Peiris
Sir James Peiris (20 December 1856 – 5 May 1930) was a prominent leader in the Sri Lankan independence movement, the first elected Vice-President of the Legislative Council of Ceylon and the first native Governor of Ceylon (Acting).
, and Maude de Mel, who was a sister of Sir
Henry de Mel
Sir Henry Lawson De Mel, (21 January 1877 – 8 May 1936) was a Sri Lanka, Ceylonese industrialist, lawyer, philanthropist and politician. He was a member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon, Legislative Council and founder of the H.L. De Mel ...
Charles Henry de Soysa
Charles Henry de Soysa Dharmagunawardana Vipula Jayasuriya Karunaratna Disanayaka popularly known as Charles Henry de Soysa, JP (3 March 1836 – 29 September 1890) was a Ceylonese entrepreneur and philanthropist. He was a pioneering planter, i ...
.Charles Henry De Soysa; The Anepindu Sitano of Lanka by Buddhika Kurukularatne
The Island (Sri Lanka)
''The Island'' is a daily English-language newspaper in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, so ...
Retrieved 1 December 2014 Educated at
Royal College, Colombo
Royal College, Colombo also known as; Royal Colombo, Colombo Royal College or Colombo Royal) is a Single-sex education, boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started by Joseph Marsh (priest), Joseph Mar ...
barrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
at
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...
.
Peiris was one of the co-founders of the
Lionel Wendt Art Centre
The Lionel Wendt Art Centre is a major art centre and theatre in Colombo, Sri Lanka, dedicated to the memory of Sri Lankan photographic artist Lionel Wendt. It combines live theatre and art exhibition, with two exhibition galleries and two thea ...
that was opened in 1953 in memory of artist
Lionel Wendt
Lionel George Henricus Wendt (3 December 1900 – 19 December 1944) was a pianist, photographer, filmmaker and critic from Sri Lanka. He was the leader of ‘43 Group, a collective of Sri Lankan artists.
The Lionel Wendt Art Centre is a major ...
. The second gallery of the center is named ''Harold Peiris Gallery'' in his honor. Fluent in several languages, including
Pali
Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...
,
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
and
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
, he translated to Sinhalese the
Gita Govinda
The ''Gita Govinda'' (; IAST: ''gītagovindam'') is a work composed by the 12th-century Hindu poet, Jayadeva. It describes the relationship between Krishna, Radha and ''gopis'' (female cow herders) of Vrindavan.
The ''Gita Govinda'' is organiz ...
in collaboration with George Keyt in 1940 and in collaboration with L.C. Van Geyzel, translated most of the poems and plays of
Kālidāsa
Kālidāsa (, "Servant of Kali (god), Kali"; 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on Hindu Puranas and philosophy. ...
in 1961.The lives of Keyt by Tissa Devendra (Sunday Observer), Retrieved 22 October 2015
Harold Peiris was married first in 1928 to Leah, daughter of S. W. Dassenaike, a retired Public Works Department engineer and a member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon, and second to Alicia "Peggy" Keyt sister of the artist
St Bridget's Convent, Colombo
St. Bridget's Convent is a private girls' school in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It was founded on February 1, 1902 by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd order, making it one of the earliest mission schools of the Roman Catholic Church of Ireland in Ceylon. ...
and the
Durdans Hospital
Durdans Hospital is a multi-speciality private hospital that treats patients visiting from around the world, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, founded in 1945, and currently owned and operated by Ceylon Hospitals PLC. History
Early years
Durdans Hospital ...
. The
Nelung Arts Centre
The Nelung Arts Centre is an arts centre in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It opened in September 2010, and houses a dance school, theatre, art gallery and associated offices. Established by the ''Nelung Arts Foundation'', which was founded by Niloufer Pieris ...
was founded by his niece Niloufer Peiris.A Bond Between Society and Architecture ''The Architect'', Retrieved 15 February 2017 Peiris is sometimes confused with Harry Pieris, a member of the Colombo '43 Group, who founded the Sapumal Foundation in 1974 to which he bequeathed his house and art collection.