Taprobane Collection

Ivan Peries (1921-1988)

‘He who never left paradise Ceylon’

 

Peries’s work has increasingly grown together with his vision of the Sri Lankan landscape. The development of his art has grown from the momentum generated in his early years in Sri Lanka. His mature work exhibits a fine control of emotions and technique.

Peries first began drawing lessons under David Paynter in the early 1940s, in Colombo where he met Aubrey Collette. Following a short stint with Paynter, Harry Pieris became his teacher. A “fastidious master of the craft” and Pieris remained as the finest of all teachers to Peries.

In 1946 Peries went to London on a scholarship from St. Johns Wood School of Art where he discovered the technique of tempera; a technique he used quite extensively.

Ivan Peries has had many critics along the way. In the inaugral exibition of the 43 ‘Group, L.P. Goonetilleke commented that Ivan Peries was “trying his hand out and his work in this exhibition indicated his ability to evolve a personal idiom” (Weerarathne, 1993;p115). The following year the same critic stated “still on the track with a Whistler mood”. These depicted a rather volatile personality of the painter.

In 1951, he had his first solo exhibition which comprised of 125 paintings, drawings, water colours and pastels.

In London Lester James Peries in a letter to his parents described a painting which was bought by Martin Russell in its incomplete state. Russell believed that Ivan Peries “has now the indications of future greatness” (Weereratne, 1993, p117).

Ivan was well recieved by many at the ‘43 Groups’ first exhibition in London in 1952. The ‘Manchseter Guardian’ critic stated that Peries “evolved a strongly personal style and has entirely digested and made his own the influences which shaped him”. Senaka Dias Bandaranayake, who devoted a lot of time to study Ivan Peries’s work in 1969 stated “In spite of having spent a major part of his life as a painter abroad, there is nothing in his work which is outside the Ceylonese experience”. He was regarded as an artist who dealt "with feeling and emotion" (Bandaranayake and Dharmasiri, 2009).

Following his return back to the UK in 1953 he had several one-man exhibitions both in Eurpoe and Colombo, which included an exhibition with Harry Pieris and another with Richard Gabriel. In UK his exhibitions included that of a collection of 80 paintings and drawings at St. Catherine’s College, Oxford in 1965; another consisted of  53 works at the Commonwealth Institute Gallery in 1966.

Peries’s works form part of many collections around the world, which includes the Petit Palais in Paris which acquired a portrait of the Actress, Irangani Serasinghe, for its permanent collection; the Martin Russel collection, London; the Sapumal Foundation, Colombo; Pembroke College, Oxford; Leicester Education Authority, Leicester and the War Memorial Museum, London. He also participated in many other exhibitions apart from his solo ones, such as AIA Gallery, London (1954); Heffer Gallery, Cambridge (1954); the XXVII Venice Biennale (1956); the XXIX Venice Biennal (1958); South London Artt Gallery (1960); Bear Lane Gallery, Oxford (1961 and 1963); the Beaux Art Gallery, London.

References:  Weeraratne (1993); Bandaranayake and Fonseka (1996).

Name of ExhibitionYearPlace
Competitive Exhbition of the Ceylon Society of Arts1939The Art Gallery, Colombo
45th Exhibition: Ceylon Society of Arts1940The Art Gallery, Colombo
Ceylon Society of Arts Exhbition1941The Art Gallery, Colombo
Competitive Exhbition of the Ceylon Society of Arts1941The Art Gallery, Colombo
Ceylon Society of Arts Exhbition1942The Art Gallery, Colombo
Ceylon’s War Effort Pictures Exhibition1943King George’s Hall, University of Colombo
43 Group 1st Exhibition1943Darley Road, Colombo
43 Group 2nd Exhibition1944Darley Road, Colombo
43 Group 3rd Exhibition1945Darley Road, Colombo
43 Group 4th Exhibition1946Darley Road, Colombo
Exhibition of Paintings, Water Colours, Pastels and Drawings from the collection of Lionel Wendt; Organized by the ’43 Group1946Guildford Crescent, Colombo
UNEXCO Internation Exhibition of Modern Art: Painting, Graphic and Decorative Art, Architecture1946Museum of Modern Art, Paris
43 Group 5th Exhibition1947Guildford Crescent, Colombo
43 Group 6th Exhibition1948Guildford Crescent, Colombo
Diamond Jubilee Exhbition of Art in Ceylon ;1887-1947; Organized by the Ceylon Society of Arts1948Colombo
43 Group 8th Exhibition1950The Art Gallery, Guildford Crescent, Colombo
Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings, Water Colours, Pastels etc 1939-19511951Colombo
43 Group Contemporary Ceylonese Painting1952Imperial Institute, London, UK
Internation Exhibition of Paintings1952Colombo
Exposition de L’Art Contemporain de Ceylan1953Petit Palais, Paris
6 Contemporary Ceylonese Painters1954Artists International Association Gallery, Leicester Square, London
Exhibition of Contemporary Painters from Ceylon1954The Heffer Gallery, Cambridge
43 Group 10th Exhibition1955The Art Gallery, Colombo
Exhibition of Contemporary Paintings and Drawings from Ceylon1956Arts Council Gallery, Cambridge
The 28th International Biennale1956Vennice
43 Group 11th Exhibition1956The Art Gallery, Guildford Crescent, Colombo
43 Group 12th Exhibition1957The Art Gallery, Guildford Crescent, Colombo
29th Vennice Biennale1958Vennice
43 Group 13th Exhibition1959The Art Gallery, Guildford Crescent, Colombo
A Loan Exhibition of Commonwealth Art1960Norwich Castle Museum, UK
Ceylon: A Painter’s Country: An Exhbition Illustrating the Practice of Painting in Ceylon from the 5th Century to the Present Day1960South London Gallery, Camberwell, London
South Asian Artists at Work in London1960Bear Lane Gallery, Oxford
Paintings by Ivan Peries and Peter Peterson1962Queenswood Gallery, London
Azzudin – Peries – Shariffe1963Bear Lane Gallery, Oxford
43 Group 14th Exhibition1964The Art Gallery, Guildford Crescent, Colombo
An Exhibition of Ceylon Paintings – Organized by the Ceylon High Commision1964Commonwealth Institute, London
43 Group – 21st Anniversary Exhibition1964Guildford Crescent, Colombo
Ivan Peries: Exhibition of Paintings, Collages, Drawings, Watercolours 1940-19651965Oxford
Ivan Peries (Ceylon)1966Commonwealth Institute Art Gallery, London
The Lionel Wendt Collection – Lionel Wendt Memorial Exhibition1967Guildford Crescent, Colombo
43 Group 16th Exhibition1967The Art Gallery, Guildford Crescent, Colombo
Ivan Peries and Richard Gabriel: Paintings, Water Colours – Lionel Wendt1969Lionel Wendt Art Gallery, Guildford Crescent, Colombo
Ivan Peries1979Newman Room, Oxford
Exhibition of Recent Oils by Ivan Peries and Sculptures by Mary Gorrara – The Grayshott Art Gallery1980The Grayshott Art Gallery, Surrey
Ivan Peries (Sri Lanka)1981Galerie Abras Mont des Arts, Brussels
Festival of Sri Lanka; Contemporary Painting in Sri Lanka1981Commonwealth Institute, London
Ivan Peries1983Sapumal Foundation, Colombo 07
43 Group Colombo: An Exhibiition of Paintings, Etching, Drawings and Sculptors1985Purcell Room, Royal Festival Hall, London
A Selection of Contemporary Work of a Few Sri Lankan Artists1985Sapumal Foundation, Colombo 07
43 Group Exhibition1987Lyre Room, The South Bank Centre, Royal Festival Hall, London
The Other Story: Asian, African and Caribbean Artists in Post-War Britain1990Hayward Gallery, London
43 Group exhibition to honor George Keyt1991Colombo
Ivan Peries: Water Colours and Drawings1993Paradise Road, Colombo
Ivan Peries: Paintings, Water Colours, Drawings To mark the publication of the book1996Sapumal Foundation, Colombo 07
Exhibition of the ’43 Group and Other Artists by The Taprobane Collection2017Nelum Arts Centre, Colombo
Name of BookYear of PublicationAuthorPrinter
Ivan Peries Paintings – 1938-881996Senaka Bandaranayake and M. FonsekaTamarind Publications

Other Publicaitons the Artist has been mentioned in

Name of BookYear of PublicationAuthorPrinter
Art in Sri Lanka – The Anton Wickramasinghe Collection1988Albert DharmasiriANCL – Lake House
Modern Sri Lankan Painters1992George Keyt FoundationSiri Printers
43 Group1993Neville WeereratneLantana Publishing
Moods and Modes – 50 years of Sri Lankan Painting1999The George Keyt Foundation Texts by: Martin Russel, Nihal Rodrigo, Ellen Dissanayake, S.B. DissanayakeAitken Spence Printing
Visions of an Island – Rare works from Sri Lanka in The Christopher Ondaatje Collection1999Neville WeereratneHarper Collins Publishers Ltd
The Presidential Collection – Contemporary Sri Lankan Art2008 Presidential Secretariat
Sri Lankan Painting in the 20th Century2009Senake Bandaranayake and Albert DharmasiriThe Nationl Trust Sri Lanka
Supplement to the Sapumal Foundation2018Rohan De SoysaThe Sapumal Foundation
The Heritage I, II, III Albert DharmasiriR. Rajamahendran

Ref :IP 4

Title :Musical Instruments

Year :Early 1940’s

Measurements in Cms:69 x 561

Material Used :Oil on Canvas

 

Ref :IP 109

Title :Standing Nude

Year :1970’s

Measurements in Cms :51 x 41

Material Used :Oil on Canvas

 

Ref :IP 186

Title :Self Portrait

Year :1940’s

Measurements in Cms:59.5 x 49

Material Used :Oil on Canvas

 

Ref :IP 108

Title :Figure by Moon Light

Signed :Upper Right

Year :1947

Measurements in Cms :51 x 49.5

Material Used :Oil on Canvas

 

Ref :IP 11

Title :Pier at Greenwich

Signed :Lower Right

Year :1948

Measurements in Cms:62 x 75

Material Used :Oil on Canvas

 

Ref :IP 106

Title :Bathers (Fishing Village

Year :1949

Measurements in Cms :62.5 x 86

Material Used :Oil on Gesso Board

 

Ref :IP 110

Title :Reclining Nude

Signed :Upper Right

Year :1949

Measurements in Cms :35 x 46

Material Used :Oil on Canvas

 

Ref :IP 618

Title :The Beloved

Year :1949

Measurements in Cms :101.68 x 81.3

Material Used :Tempera/Water Colour on Board

 

Ref :IP 110

Title :Reclining Nude

Signed :Upper Right

Year :1949

Measurements in Cms:35 x 46

Material Used :Oil on Canvas

Ref :IP 530

Title :Portrait of Prof S.B. Dissanayake

Signed :Upper Right

Year :1958

Measurements in Cms. :60.5 x 45.5

Material Used :Pencil / Pastel on Canvas

 

Ref :IP 258

Title :Kirigal

Signed :Lower Right

Year :1961

Measurements in Cms:51 x 40.5

Material Used :Oil on Canvas

 

Ref :IP 105

Title :Marmalade Sun – Bahina Ira II

Signed :On Reverse

Year :1962

Measurements in Cms:60 x 75

Material Used :Oil on Board

 

Ref :IP 6

Title :The Mask

Signed :Lower Right

Year :1966

Measurements in Cms. :36 x 49.5

Material Used :Acrylic on Card

 

Ref :IP 242

Title :Study of Man

Signed :Upper Right

Year :1967

Measurements in Cms :26.5 x 17.5

Material Used :Pen and Ink on Paper

 

Ref :IP 244

Title :Study of Nude

Signed :Upper Right

Year :1967

Measurements in Cms :26.5 x 17.5

Material Used :Pen Drawing

 

Ref :IP 18

Title :Seated Man (by the Shore)

Signed :Lower Right

Year :1968

Measurements in Cms:20.5 x 25

Material Used :Acrylic on Paper

 

Ref :IP 236

Title :Untitled

Signed :Lower Right

Year :1969

Measurements in Cms :26.5 x 19.5

Material Used :Oil on Card Board

 

Ref :IP 623

Title :Tobacco Box

Signed :Lower Middle

Year :1976

Measurements in Cms:69.5 x 45

Material Used :Oil on Board

 

Ref :IP 531

Title :Sail Boat

Signed :Lower Right

Year :1978

Measurements in Cms :43.5 x 68.5

Material Used :Oil on Card

 

Ref :IP 252

Title :Earth Tremor

Signed :Middle

Year :1980

Measurements in Cms:50.5 x 60

Material Used :Oil on Board

 

Ref :IP 5

Title :The Leaning Tree

Signed :Middle Right

Year :1982

Measurements in Cms:53 x 88.5

Material Used :Oil on Card

 

Ref :IP 21

Title :Standing Man

Signed :Upper Left

Year :1982

Measurements in Cms :28 x 20.5

Material Used :Acrylic on Paper

 

Ref :IP 22

Title :Seated Man

Signed :Upper Left

Year :1982

Measurements in Cms :28.5 x 21

Material Used :Acrylic on Paper

 

Ref :IP 23

Title :Standing & Seated Men

Signed :Upper Left

Year :1982

Measurements in Cms21 x 30

Material Used :Acrylic on Paper

 

Ref :IP 26

Title :Standing Man

Signed :Lower Left

Year :1982

Measurements in Cms. :30 x 24

Material Used :Acrylic on Paper

 

Ref :IP 30

Title :Two Seated Men

Signed :Upper Left

Year :1982

Measurements in Cms :21 x 30

Material Used :Water Colour on Paper

 

Ref :IP 42

Title :Standing & Sitting Men

Signed :Lower Left

Year :1982

Measurements in Cms:30 x 21

Material Used :Acrylic on Paper

Ref :IP 43

Title :Standing Man

Signed :Upper Left

Year :1982

Measurements in Cms:30 x 21

Material Used :Water Colour on Paper

 

Ref :IP 47

Title :Standing Man & Sitting Man

Signed :Upper Left

Year :1982

Measurements in Cms:30 x 21

 

Material Used :Water Colour on Paper

 

Ref :IP 49

Title :Standing Man & Sitting Man

Signed :Lower Left

Year :1982

Measurements in Cms:30 x 21

Material Used :Water Colour on Paper

 

Ref :IP 51

Title :Standing Man

Signed :Upper Left

Year :1982

Measurements in Cms:30 x 21

Material Used :Acrylic on Paper

 

Ref :IP 57

Title :The Leaning Tree

Signed :Lower Right

Year :1982

Measurements in Cms:64 x 90.5

Material Used :Oil on Card

 

Ref :IP 59

Title :The Leaning Tree

Signed :Lower Middle

Year :1982

Measurements in Cms :64 x 90.5

Material Used :Oil on Card

 

Ref :IP 98

Title :Standing Man

Signed :Upper Left

Year :1982

Measurements in Cms:30 x 21

Material Used :Acrylic on Paper

 

Ref :IP 101

Title :Seated Man

Signed :Upper Left

Year :1982

Measurements in Cms:30 x 21

Material Used :Acrylic on Paper

 

Ref :IP 102

Title :Standing Man

Signed :Upper Left

Year :1982

Measurements in Cms:30 x 21

Material Used :Acrylic on Paper

 

Ref :IP 112

Title :Standing Man & Seated Man

Signed :Upper Left

Year :1982

Measurements in Cms:30 x 21

Material Used :Acrylic on Paper

 

Ref :IP 113

Title :Standing Man

Signed :Upper Left

Year :1982

Measurements in Cms:30 x 21

Material Used :Acrylic on Paper

 

Ref :IP 123

Title :Standing Man

Signed :Upper Left

Year :1982

Measurements in Cms :29.5 x 21

Material Used :Acrylic on Paper

 

Ref :IP 225

Title :Hut by the Shore

Signed :Lower Left

Year :1982

Measurements in Cms :50.5 x 60.5

Material Used :Oil on Canvas

Ref :IP 247

Title :The Leaning Tree

Signed :Middle

Year :1982

Measurements in Cms :64 x 90

Material Used :Oil on Card

 

Ref :IP 248

Title :The Leaning Tree

Signed :Middle

Year :1982

Measurements in Cms :64 x 90

Material Used :Oil on Card

Ref :IP 249

Title :Leaning Tree

Measurements in Cms :64 x 90

Material Used :Oil on Card

 

Ref :IP 2

Title :Standing Man

Signed :Lower Right

Year :1983

Measurements in Cms :30 x 21

Material Used :Acrylic on Paper

 

Ref :IP 95

Title :Standing Man

Signed :Upper Left

Year :1985

Measurements in Cms :29.5 x 21

Material Used :Acrylic on Paper

 

Ref :IP 226

Title :Woman by the Beach

Signed :Top Right

Year :1986

Measurements in Cms :61 x 51

Material Used :Oil on Board

 

Ref :IP 227

Title :Girl & Flower Vase

Signed :Middle

Year :1986

Measurements in Cms:76 x 50.5

Material Used :Oil on Board

Ref :IP 7

Title :Warrior on Horse

Signed :Lower Right

Year :1987

Measurements in Cms :64 x 52

Material Used :Oil on Canvas

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