The '43 Group was a 20th-century modern art school established in August 1943 in

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

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, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

(then

British Ceylon British Ceylon (; ), officially British Settlements and Territories in the Island of Ceylon with its Dependencies from 1802 to 1833, then the Island of Ceylon and its Territories and Dependencies from 1833 to 1931 and finally the Island of Cey ...

). The group was essentially an association of like-minded artists who had broken away from the

Ceylon Society of Arts 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, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, led by photographer and critic Lionel Wendt, and originally included nine painters as key members (listed alphabetically): Geoffrey Beling,

George Claessen George Claessen (5 May 1909 – 1 May 1999) was a Sri Lankan artist and poet whose art was characterised by his mystical outlook and beliefs. He was a founding member of the Colombo '43 Group. Biography Claessen was born in Colombo and was a l ...

, Aubrey Collette, Justin Daraniyagala, Richard Gabriel,

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

, Harry Pieris (the first and only Secretary of the Group), and the Ver. Manjusri Thero,Elements of an art lover
, Ceylon Today, Retrieved 10 June 2015
by Godwin Witane, Retrieved 11 June 2015 The group were influenced by Charles Freegrove Winzer, to whom Keyt and Beling had been pupils. The paintings of the group constituted a historic break in Sri Lankan and, more generally, South Asian tradition. Art historian Jagath Weerasinghe wrote that the most significant achievement of the 43 Group was their localization of European modernist trends into a distinctively Sri Lankan modernist art.

Lester James Peries Sri Lankabhimanya Lester James Peries (Sinhala language, Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකාභිමාන්‍ය ලෙස්ටර් ජේම්ස් පීරිස්; 5 April 1919 – 29 April 2018) was a Sri Lankan film director, ...

became a later associate of the group. The Group also promoted

Kandyan dance Kandyan dance (Sinhala language, 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 pa ...

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 his rakus meant Rak + Kus > cultivators) --> Classical dances There are three main styles of ...

forms.Traditional dance in British Ceylon
by Kamalika Pieris (The Island), Retrieved 22 October 2016

External links

43 Group

References

{{authority control Sri Lankan art movements 20th-century Sri Lankan painters 20th-century Sri Lankan artists Sri Lankan photographers Sri Lankan cartoonists Arts organisations based in Sri Lanka Culture of Sri Lanka