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George Keyt embarked on his journey as a painter at the age of 26, in a period where art work was strongly influenced by Buddhist and Hindu iconography. He was encouraged by Lionel Wendt who organized exhibitions for Keyt and Beling. This resulted in Keyt and Beling becoming pupils of Charles Freegrove Winzer, the Government Inspector of art. Winzer applauded Keyt in an article in January 1931 edition of “The Studio”, the British Art Journal, in which he mentioned that ‘In Keyts canvases the attitudes and gestures faithfully portray characteristcs of the inhabitants of Ceylon’(Weeraratne, 1993;103).
The colour in Keyt’s work was always brilliant and very well balanced, while the drawing was actively engaged in binding together all the different elements. Most times the work praised the beauty of the female figure. One cannot mistake Keyts work for another.
The monumentality of Keyts paintings can be viewed from his early days. There are substantial elements that make this impressive picture.They begin from his childhood when he was obsessed with certain Christian images – the Holy Family and the Crucifixion. Thereafter he turned to the countryside which nutured his childhood and youth. The Kandyan landscape and the Kandyan people became his subjects in the late 1920s to the 1930s; which soon turned towards the Temple. From the 1930s onwards his style was impregnated with appreciation of the physical form, predominantly female and an all embracing investigation of poetic romance. To justify his great fondness for women he turned to things Indian and the Hindu thought, that celebrated the conjuction of the sexes rhapsodized in Indian poetry and sculpture of ancient India. He said “They made a tremendous impression on me and changed my whole life”(Weeraratne, 1993;107).
The 1940s and 1950s is referred to as his ‘Naika’ period, by critics and connoisseurs, a period where he retired from painting and turned to writing poetry. This came in three volumes; “Poems”, “Darkness Disrobed” and “Image in Absence”. Following his withradwal from painting Keyt returned in 1938, to work on the famous mural of the life of Buddha in the Gotami Vihare at Borella in Colombo.
Keyt had 13 pictures at the first 43 Group exhibition in November 1943, which were all acquired by Martin Russell except one which had already been bought by Lionel Wendt.
Keyt was highly regarded in India. Following his first trip to India in 1939, he visted Bombay in 1945 as a guest of Mulk Raj Anand and Anil de Silva where he was given a solo exhibition in 1947. In 1950 a retrospective exihibition of Keyt’s work was organized by the Group at the Wendt which had 45 works. This drew unanimous applause from the press. The exhibition was an attempt to trace the developments of the artist’s style of the twenty years of his career. Another one man exhibition was held in 1950 and included 74 paintings. Thereafter Keyt’s work was seen in 1952 in London at the Group’s first exhibition.
In celebration of his work a richly illustrated monograph ‘George Keyt’ edited by Martin Russell, was published in Bombay in 1950. Twenty seven years later, another volume entitled ‘ George Keyt - A Felicitation Volume’ was published in Cololmbo to mark his 75th Birthday.
Extracted from Weeraratne (1993) and Goonetileke (1990)
| Name of Exhibition | Year | Place |
|---|---|---|
| Exhibited work | 1929 | Ceylon Art Club, Colombo |
| Exhibition (Together with Picasso and Braque) | 1930 | Ferguson Memorial Hall, Zwemmer Gallery, London |
| Two Man Exhibition with Justin Daraniyagala | 1936 | National Art Gallery, Colombo |
| 43 Group 1st Exhibition | 1943 | Darley Road, Colombo |
| 43 Group 2nd Exhibition | 1944 | Darley Road, Colombo |
| 43 Group 3rd Exhibition | 1945 | Darley Road, Colombo |
| 43 Group 4th Exhibition | 1946 | Darley Road, Colombo |
| Solo Exhibition | 1946 | Mumbai, India |
| 43 Group 5th Exhibition | 1947 | Guildford Crescent, Colombo |
| 43 Group 6th Exhibition | 1948 | Guildford Crescent, Colombo |
| 43 Group 7th Exhibition | 1949 | Guildford Crescent, Colombo |
| 43 Group 8th Exhibition: The Art Gallery | 1950 | Guildford Crescent, Colombo |
| Retrospective exhibition of George Keyt | 1950 | Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| 43 Group Contemporary Ceylonese Painting – Imperial Institute | 1952 | London, UK |
| 43 Group Contemporary Ceylonese Painting – Imperial Institute | 1953 | New Delhi, India |
| Exposition de L’Art Contemporain De Ceylon | 1953 | Paris |
| Solo Exhibition at Institute of Contemporary Arts | 1954 | London, UK |
| Solo Exhibition at the Arts Institute of Rotterdam | 1954 | Rotterdam, Holland |
| Exhibition of Contemporary Painters from Ceylon | 1954 | The Heffer Gallery, Cambridge |
| 43 Group 10th Exhibition | 1955 | The Art Gallery, Colombo |
| 43 Group 11th Exhibition: The Art Gallery | 1956 | Guildford Crescent, Colombo |
| The 28th International Biennale | 1956 | Vennice |
| 43 Group 12th Exhibition | 1957 | The Art Gallery, Guildford Crescent, Colombo |
| 43 Group 13th Exhibition | 1959 | The Art Gallery, Guildford Crescent, Colombo |
| Ceylon: A Painter’s Country: An Exhbition Illustrating the Practice of Painting in Ceylon from the 5th Century to the Present Day – South London Gallery | 1960 | Camberwell, London |
| A Loan Exhibition of Commonwealth Art | 1960 | Norwich Castle Museum, UK |
| 43 Group 14th Exhibition | 1964 | The Art Gallery, Guildford Crescent, Colombo |
| 43 Group 16th Exhibition | 1967 | The Art Gallery, Guildford Crescent, Colombo |
| George Keyt: Exhibition of Recent Paintings | 1969 | Gallery Chemould, Mumbai, India |
| An Exhibition of Recent Paintings and Drawings by George Keyt | 1972 | Samudra Gallery, Colombo |
| An Exhibition of Recent Paintings and Drawings by George Keyt | 1972 | Lionel Wendt, Colombo |
| Solo Exhbition | 1974 | Commonwealth Art Gallery, London, UK |
| Solo Exhibition | 1975 | Kalagaraya, Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Selected Paintings and Drawings by George Keyt – Catalouge and Exihibition sponsored by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations | 1975 | National Gallery for Modern Art, New Delhi, India |
| Exhibition in Madras – Invitation of Indian Council for Cultural Regulations | 1976 | Madras, India |
| George Keyt Exhibition of Paintings | 1978 | Art Gallery, Colombo |
| Solo Exhibition by Patrick Seale | 1982 | Sally Hunter Gallery, London, UK |
| George Keyt Exhibition | 1983 | Guildford Crescent, Colombo |
| George Keyt Exhibition organized by the Sapumal Foundation | 1984 | Sapumal Foundation, Colombo 07 |
| Catalogue of Twenty Studies and Sketches by George Keyt. Inaugural Exhibition of Ralph Peiris Bequest | 1986 | Colombo 3 |
| 43 Group exhibition to honor George Keyt | 1991 | Colombo |
| Exhibition of the ’43 Group and Other Artists by The Taprobane Collection | 2017 | Nelum Arts Centre, Colombo |
| Name of Book | Year of Publication | Author | Printer |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Keyt | 1950 | Martine Russell | |
| George Keyt | 1954 | University of Ceylon, Peradeniya | |
| George Keyt - Paintings and Drawings of Ceylon Exhibition Catalogue (6th Jan - 6 Feb, 1954) | 1954 | Institute of Contemporary Arts, London | |
| Gita Govinda | 1965 | George Keyt | Kutub-Popular |
| George Keyt - A Felicitation Volume | 1977 | The George Keyt Felicitation Committee | Aitken Spence & Co Ltd. |
| George Keyt – A Life in Art | 1989 | H.A.I. Goonethileke | George Keyt Foundation |
| George Keyt Drawings | 1990 | H.A.I. Goonethilaka | George Keyt Foundation |
| George Keyt | 1991 | Ashley Halpe | George Keyt Foundation |
| George Keyt | 1991 | Exhibition of Paintings | George Keyt Foundation |
| George Keyt – A Collection of Poems | 1991 | Edited by H. A. I. Goonethileke | George Keyt Foundation |
| George Keyt - Interpretations | 1991 | Sunil Goonasekera | Institute of Fundamental Studies |
| George Keyt’s Gothami Vihare Murals | 1991 | Albert Dharmasiri | Sridevi Printers |
| Gotama Buddha Murals | 1993 | George Keyt (Text by Anuradha Seneviratne) | The George Keyt Foundation |
| George Keyt Paintings Diary 1993 | 1993 | George Keyt Foundation | |
| George Keyt – A centennial Anthology | 2001 | The George Keyt Foundation | |
| George Keyt – Nursery Rhymes for my daughter Diana | 2013 | Diana Keyt | Vijitha Yapa Publications |
| The Artist from MARG – George Keyt | L.C. Van Geyzel | MARG | |
Other Publicaitons the Artist has been mentioned in |
|||
| Three Painters | 1960 | R. de L. Furtado | Dhoomimal Ramchand |
| Art in Sri Lanka – The Anton Wickramasinghe Collection | 1988 | Albert Dharmasiri | ANCL – Lake House |
| Modern Sri Lankan Painters | 1992 | George Keyt Foundation | Siri Printers |
| 43 Group | 1993 | Neville Weereratne | Lantana Publishing |
| Visions of an Island – Rare works from Sri Lanka in The Christopher Ondaatje Collection | 1999 | Neville Weereratne | Harper Collins Publishers Ltd |
| Moods and Modes – 50 years of Sri Lankan Painting | 1999 | Martin Russel, Nihal Rodrigo, Ellen Dissanayake, S.B. Dissanayake | The George Keyt Foundation / Aitken Spence Printing |
| The Presidential Collection – Contemporary Sri Lankan Art | 2008 | Presidential Secretariat | |
| Sri Lankan Painting in the 20th Century | 2009 | Senake Bandaranayake and Albert Dharmasiri | The Nationl Trust Sri Lanka |
| Supplement to the Sapumal Foundation | 2018 | Rohan De Soysa | The Sapumal Foundation |
| The Heritage I, II, III | Albert Dharmasiri | R. Rajamahendran | |
Ref :GK 11-63
Title :Untitled (Musicians)
Year :1920's
Material Used :Pencil, ink and gouache on Paper
Dimensions in Cms. :42.9 x 35
Ref :GK 11-64
Title :Untitled (Musicians)
Year :1920's
Material Used :Pencil, ink and gouache on Paper
Dimensions in Cms. :39.5 x 30.5
Ref :GK 74
Title :Two Women
Signed :Lower Right
Year :1930's
Material Used :Oil on Canvas
Dimensions in Cms. :55 x 39.5
Ref :GK 80
Title :Ratti
Signed :Upper Right
Year :1936
Material Used :Oil on Canvas
Dimensions in Cms. :93 x 58
Ref :GK 10-79
Title :Rasa Lila
Signed :Upper Left
Year :1936
Material Used :Oil on Canvas
Dimensions in Cms. :59.5 x 102
Ref :GK 713
Title :Lovers
Signed :Lower Right
Year :1937
Material Used :Oil on Canvas
Dimensions in Cms. :89.5 x 58.5
Ref :GK-11-19
Title :Musicians
Signed :Upper Right
Year :1938
Material Used :Oil on Canvas
Dimensions in Cms. :81.5 x 74
Ref :GK 64
Title :Friends
Signed :Upper Left
Year :1943
Material Used :Water Colour on Paper
Dimensions in Cms. :49.5 x 41.5
Ref :GK 75
Title :Study for Bhima & Jarasandha
Signed :Upper Right
Year :1943
Material Used :Brush Painting on Card
Dimensions in Cms. :42.5 x 51
Ref :GK 428
Title :Nayika
Signed :Top Center
Year :1943
Material Used :Oil on Canvas
Dimensions in Cms. :60 x 47.5
Ref :GK 424
Title :Portrait of Russell’s Soul
Signed :Upper Left
Year :1944
Material Used :Oil on Canvas
Dimensions in Cms. :32 x 44
Ref :GK 76
Title :Recumbent Woman
Signed :Lower Right
Year :1946
Material Used :Oil on Canvas
Dimensions in Cms. :40 x 58
Ref :GK 11-35
Title :Dancer
Signed :Upper Right
Year :1947
Material Used :Water Colour Oil on Paper on Board
Dimensions in Cms. :62.5 x 37.5
Ref :GK 11-36
Title :Dancer
Signed :Upper Left
Year :1947
Material Used :Water Colour Oil on Paper on Board
Dimensions in Cms. :62 .5 x 37.5
Ref :GK 11-37
Title :Dancer
Signed :Upper Right
Year :1947
Material Used :Water Colour Oil on Paper on Board
Dimensions in Cms. :62 .5 x 37.5
Ref :GK 11-38
Title :Dancer
Signed :Upper Right
Year :1947
Material Used :Water Colour Oil on Paper on Board
Dimensions in Cms. :63.5 x 38
Ref :GK 11-39
Title :Dancer
Signed :Upper Left
Year :1947
Material Used :Water Colour Oil on Paper on Board
Dimensions in Cms. :63 x 37
Ref :GK 11-40
Title :Dancer
Signed :Upper Left
Year :1947
Material Used :Water Colour Oil on Paper on Board
Dimensions in Cms. :63 x 37
Ref :GK 942
Title :Raga Malkosh
Signed :Upper Left
Year :1948
Material Used :Oil on Burlap
Dimensions in Cms. :111 .5 x 78
Ref :GK 77
Title :Urvashi
Signed :Upper Left
Year :1974
Material Used :Conte Crayon on Paper
Dimensions in Cms. :14 x 25
Ref :GK 7
Title :The Golden Swan
Signed :Lower Left
Year :1991
Material Used :Acrylic on Canvass
Dimensions in Cms. :152.5 x 89
Ref :GK 3
Title :Passing of Absence
Signed :Lower Left
Year :1992
Material Used :Acrylic on Canvass
Dimensions in Cms. :110 x 78
Ref :GK 4
Title :Arshirvad
Signed :Lower Right
Year :1992
Material Used :Acrylic on Canvass
Dimensions in Cms. :89 x 152.2
Ref :GK 43
Title :Jhula (The Swing)
Signed :Lower Right
Year :1992
Material Used :Acrylic on Canvass
Dimensions in Cms. :70 x 102.5
Ref :GK 63
Title :Vilaval Ragini
Signed :Lower Right
Year :1992
Material Used :Acrylic on Canvass
Dimensions in Cms. :72 x 106
Ref :GK 66
Title :Lonely Release
Signed :Upper Left
Year :1992
Material Used :Acrylic on Canvass
Dimensions in Cms. :75 x 102.5
Ref :GK 78
Title :Veraheni
Signed :Upper Right
Year :1992
Material Used :Acrylic on Canvass
Dimensions in Cms. :88 x 151.5
| Year | Institute | Qualification |
|---|