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§ Ivan Peries (1921-1988) Seated figure in a landscapesigned with initials (lower right)oil on paper laid to board53 x 78cmProvenance:Acquired directly from the artist during the 1980sAlthough he is today considered to be one of Sri Lanka’s most esteemed artists, it was during his self-imposed exile in England, oscillating between Southend-on-Sea and London, that Ivan Peries cultivated his distinctive and painterly lexicon. Despite this cultural dislocation, Peries’ work is idiomatically Sri Lankan and thus is celebrated for its adroit description of the lived Ceylonese experience.Born in Dehiwala, the largest suburb of Colombo, Peries received his early training under David Paynter in the early 1940s and, later, under Harry Pieris. The relationship between Ivan Peries and Harry Pieris would ultimately mature into a lifelong friendship and conduit for reciprocal artistic discussion and inspiration. Indeed, the pair, alongside a cadre of likeminded Sri Lankan artists, including Justin Daraniyagala, George Keyt and, the nucleus of the group, Lionel Wendt, established the ‘43 Group’ in Colombo in 1943.A creative and intellectual collective bound by ideology rather than by stylistic attributes, the '43 Group' represented those artists who had found themselves ostracised from the Ceylon Society of Arts. Unlike the Ceylon Society, which had become entrenched in perpetuating a rigid and archaic framework for painting, the '43 Group' aimed to absorb European artistic practices, including expressionism and post-impressionism, within the fabric of traditional Ceylonese painting to create a synthesised, and previously unseen, brand of Sri Lankan modernism. In their home country, the members of the '43 group' were treated with suspicion and, on occasion, outright hostility, with critics bemoaning the degeneration and spiritual bankruptcy of the artists. In Europe, however, the group were generally well received, both as a collective and as individual artists.Peries first left Sri Lanka for England in 1946 when he was awarded a scholarship to train at St Johns Wood School of Art. After a brief return to Colombo, Peries, amidst the political ferment of his homeland and frustrated by the obstinancy of the Ceylon art scene, returned to settle permanently in the United Kingdom in 1953. Although he had found himself more than 5000 miles from his homeland and working a series of poorly paid jobs to support his practice, Peries’ collective body of work can be viewed as a protracted and nuanced meditation upon Ceylonese life and history.Finely distilled in palette and emotion, the present lot is typical of Peries’ work. Inspired by the paintings of Fra Angelico, Peries’ work is celebrated for its monastic austerity and quietly contemplative character. Today, it can be found in major collections throughout Europe and Sri Lanka, including at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, the Petit Palais, Paris, and the Sapumal Foundation, Colombo.Surface appears matte and even throughout, Some very minor scattered accretions across the surface, a little dirty commensurate with age, and the central painted post with an extremely fine network of age cracks to the paint surface, but with no losses of media. The support demonstrates some minor deformation, but overall in very nice condition.

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