George Percival Sproule Keyt, (17 April 1901 – 31 July 1993) was a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

n painter.George Keyt, a centennial anthology
(George Keyt Foundation) He is often considered

's most distinguished modern painter. Keyt's dominant style is influenced by

cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

. He also claimed to be influenced by his contemporary

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...

and the ancient Buddhist art and sculpture of

Nagarjunakonda Nagarjunakonda (IAST: Nāgārjunikoṇḍa, meaning Nagarjuna Hill) is a historical town, now an island located near Nagarjuna Sagar in Palnadu district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, near the state border with Telangana. It is one of ...

Sanchi Sanchi is a Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the States and territories of India, State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometres from Raisen, Raisen town, dist ...

and

Gandhara Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Vall ...

. The

Jataka tales The Jātakas (meaning "Birth Story", "related to a birth") are a voluminous body of literature native to India which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. According to Peter Skilling, this genre is ...

formed a recurring theme in many of his works.Gotama Buddha Murals
by Professor Anuradha Seneviratna (The Island), Retrieved 22 October 2015 In addition to being a painter, Keyt was a poet. He outlined his perceptions and practice as a painter in a few essays on the vision of the painter. One of his most notable literary works is his translation of the ''

Gita Govinda The ''Gita Govinda'' ( sa, गीत गोविन्दम्; ) 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 G ...

'' into English (Bombay, 1940) and

Sinhalese Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka * Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language ** Sinha ...

.The lives of Keyt
by Tissa Devendra (Sunday Observer), Retrieved 22 October 2015 These translations were illustrated by his own line drawings (see Martin Russell collection and Amerasinghe-Ganendra collections).

Early life

Keyt was born in

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, the son of Henry Kriekenbeek Keyt and Constance Evelyn née Sproule. He was educated at

Trinity College (Kandy) "Look to the End" , mottoes = , founder = John Ireland Jones , established = , type = Independent Private , affiliation = Church of Ceylon, Anglican , grade ...

, an elite colonial school in the British

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

tradition. Stemming from Anglo-Dutch

Burgher Burgher may refer to: * Burgher (social class), a medieval, early modern European title of a citizen of a town, and a social class from which city officials could be drawn ** Burgess (title), a resident of a burgh in northern Britain ** Grand Bu ...

origins, Keyt gave much time from an early age to drawing and the study of art and developed a consuming passion for books and reading.

Influence

The spell of the ancient hill capital and its

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

aura soon came to exercise a powerful and lasting influence and was to provide both the literary and artistic stimulus living so close to the Malwatte Vihare. He became greatly drawn towards Buddhism and championed the cause of the Buddhist revival. He wrote profusely in both prose and verse. The young painter also began to turn his back on the values of the westernised milieu of the class into which he was born. His explorations in

Hindu mythology Hindu mythology is the body of myths and literature attributed to, and espoused by, the adherents of the Hindu religion, found in Hindu texts such as the Vedic literature, epics like ''Mahabharata'' and ''Ramayana'', the Puranas, and reg ...

and

Indian literature Indian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Republic of India has 22 officially recognised languages. The earliest works of Indian literature were o ...

led him to close links with the cultural life of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, where he lived for long and short periods from 1939 right up to the late seventies. To the Sri Lankan Buddhist source were now added the imagery of Hindu myth and legend as key influences. A meeting with

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

in the 1930s in Ceylon left a lasting impression.

43 Group

In 1930 at the Ferguson Hall, Union Place, the photographer

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 ...

organised Keyt and fellow artist Geoffrey Beling's first exhibition. Critics considered the art ‘manifestly ridiculous and degrading’, however

Pablo Neruda Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto (12 July 1904 – 23 September 1973), better known by his pen name and, later, legal name Pablo Neruda (; ), was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Nerud ...

, the Chilean poet, wrote in the ''

Times of Ceylon ''The Times of Ceylon'' was an English language daily newspaper in Sri Lanka published by Times of Ceylon Limited (TOCL). It was founded in 1846 as the ''Ceylon Times'' and was published from Colombo. It ceased publication in 1985. History The ...

'' that "true artists are rare in Ceylon. There are two exceptions". The exhibition also included works by

Charles Freegrove Winzer Charles Henry D. Freegrove Winzer (1886–1940) was a British painter and lithographer. He lived in Paris, and was interned by Germany in World War I. Afterwards, he worked in Sri Lanka, until retirement to Vienna. He is widely regarded as a ...

, to whom Keyt and Beling were pupils. Keyt was a founder member of the

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, le ...

of Sri Lankan artists, and one of its four leading painters, along with

Ivan Peries Ivan Peries (31 July 1921 – 13 February 1988) was a founder member of the Colombo '43 Group of Sri Lankan artists, and became one of its leading painters. Born near Colombo, he spent more than half his life in self-imposed exile in London ...

Justin Daraniyagala Justin Pieris Deraniyagala (20 July 1903 – 24 May 1967) was a Sri Lankan painter. Deraniyagala was a founder member of the Colombo '43 Group of Sri Lankan artists and along with Lionel Wendt, George Keyt and Harold Peiris. Born on 20 July ...

and Harry Pieris. Keyt, Pieris and

are also known for their efforts to popularise

Kandyan dance Kandyan dance ( Sinhala: උඩරට නැටුම්) encompasses various dance forms popular and native to the area called Kandy of the Central Hills region known as Udarata in Sri Lanka, which have today spread to other parts of the countr ...

and other

Sri Lankan dance There are several styles of classical and folk dance in Sri Lanka. _Classical_dances There_are_three_main_styles_of_Sri_Lankan_classical_dance: *The_ _cultivators)_--> _Classical_dances There_are_three_main_styles_of_Sri_Lankan_classical_danc ...

forms.Traditional dance in British Ceylon
by Kamalika Pieris (The Island), Retrieved 22 October 2016 Many exhibitions of his work have also been held in India,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and other European and American centres. His pictures are found in various museums and galleries abroad, as well as in private collections in Sri Lanka and throughout the world.

Honors

Sri Lanka has issued several stamps featuring the paintings of George Keyt. He was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

1953 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1953 for the United Kingdom were announced on 30 December 1952, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1953. This was the first New Year Honours since the accession of Queen Elizabeth II. The ''Honours list'' ...

References

External links

The George Keyt Foundation

Examples of contemporary Sri Lankan painting

The lives of Keyt In memory of the 106th birth anniversary of George Keyt
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keyt, George 1901 births 1993 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Kandy Burgher artists People of British Ceylon Sri Lankan Buddhists Sri Lankan people of Dutch descent 20th-century Sri Lankan painters Ceylonese Members of the Order of the British Empire Kala Keerthi Buddhist artists