George Keyt

(Sri Lankan, 1901–1993)

George Keyt was a Sri Lankan artist and poet best known for his richly colored, Cubist-like figure paintings. Keyt’s combination of Sri Lankan life, the calligraphic lines of Henri Matisse, and forms he found in ancient Buddhist and Hindu sculptures, produced a wholly unique style. “Keyt I think is the living nucleus of a great painter. In all his works, there is the moderation of maturity,” the poet Pablo Neruda once said of his work. “[His] figures take on a strange expressive grandeur, and radiate an aura of intensely profound feeling.” Born on April 17, 1901 in Ceylon, Sri Lanka, he studied at Trinity College in Kandy, where he was drawn to the Buddhist and Hindu ethos surrounding him. In 1939, he moved to India, where he absorbed himself in the local culture. After returning to Sri Lanka, Keyt helped form the Colombo '43 group, whose tenets attempted to merge trends in European Modern movements into their own cultural sphere. The group also included fellow Sri Lankan painters Ivan Peries and Harold Peiris. During the late 1980s, the artist and some of his admirers set up the George Keyt Foundation. The artist died on July 31, 1993 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Today, his works are held in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi. 

George Keyt Artworks

George Keyt (315 results)
Harmony, 1981

George Keyt

Harmony, 1981

Sale Date: June 7, 2012

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1971

George Keyt

Untitled, 1971

Sale Date: April 9, 2011

Auction Closed

Friends

George Keyt

Friends

Sale Date: June 1, 2011

Auction Closed

Artist with models

George Keyt

Artist with models

Sale Date: June 1, 2011

Auction Closed

Girl with mirror

George Keyt

Girl with mirror

Sale Date: June 1, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled

George Keyt

Untitled

Sale Date: June 1, 2011

Auction Closed

Woman with flowers, 1968

George Keyt

Woman with flowers, 1968

Sale Date: May 24, 2011

Auction Closed

Kumudu with flowers, 1980

George Keyt

Kumudu with flowers, 1980

Sale Date: October 27, 2010

Auction Closed

Girl with mirror, 1946

George Keyt

Girl with mirror, 1946

Sale Date: October 11, 2010

Auction Closed

Solitude, 1982

George Keyt

Solitude, 1982

Sale Date: October 11, 2010

Auction Closed

Veraheni, 1976

George Keyt

Veraheni, 1976

Sale Date: October 11, 2010

Auction Closed

Reclining lady, 1958

George Keyt

Reclining lady, 1958

Sale Date: June 10, 2010

Auction Closed

Untitled (Female heads), 1982

George Keyt

Untitled (Female heads), 1982

Sale Date: June 9, 2010

Auction Closed

Dancers, 1980

George Keyt

Dancers, 1980

Sale Date: June 2, 2010

Auction Closed

Radha and Krishna, 1980

George Keyt

Radha and Krishna, 1980

Sale Date: June 2, 2010

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1982

George Keyt

Ohne Titel, 1982

Sale Date: December 3, 2009

Auction Closed

Radha and Krishna, 1978

George Keyt

Radha and Krishna, 1978

Sale Date: October 12, 2009

Auction Closed

Musicians, 1974

George Keyt

Musicians, 1974

Sale Date: October 12, 2009

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1954

George Keyt

Untitled, 1954

Sale Date: September 17, 2009

Auction Closed

Lovers, 1973

George Keyt

Lovers, 1973

Sale Date: August 26, 2009

Auction Closed

Figures with mirror, 1974

George Keyt

Figures with mirror, 1974

Sale Date: August 26, 2009

Auction Closed

Untitled, reclining nude, 1952

George Keyt

Untitled, reclining nude, 1952

Sale Date: June 10, 2009

Auction Closed

Untitled, six dancers (set of 6 drawings), 1947

George Keyt

Untitled, six dancers (set of 6 drawings), 1947

Sale Date: June 10, 2009

Auction Closed

Untitled, Woman with rabbit, 1982

George Keyt

Untitled, Woman with rabbit, 1982

Sale Date: June 10, 2009

Auction Closed