Harry Pieris (10 August 1904 – 14 March 1988) was a Sri Lankan painter. He was one of the founders of the Colombo '43 Group, and has been considered the finest Asian portraitist of the 20th century working in a European style.
Charles Henry ("Harry") Alfred Pieris was born on 10 August 1904 to a wealthy landed family. He was the eighth of eleven children of Henry ("Harry") Pieris and Lydia de Mel, one of the 9 daughters of Jacob De Mel. Sir James Peiris and Sir Henry de Mel were among his uncles, and his numerous cousins included Harold Peiris, Lakdasa De Mel and Devar Surya Sena.
Pieris received his early art education at the Atelier School of Art under the tutelage of Mudaliyar A. C. G. S. Amarasekara. He studied Pali and Sanskrit at the University of Oxford and went on to study art at the Royal College of Art under Sir William Rothenstein. He won the prize for the best portrait in 1926, the portrait of his uncle, Sir James Pieris.
Pieris returned to Ceylon in 1927, having gained a diploma from the Royal College of Art. He then went to Paris in 1929, spending six years under the tutelage of Robert Falk. He developed a close friendship with Henri Matisse and worked at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. He returned to Ceylon in 1935 after a teaching stint at the Rabindranath Tagore's Abode of Peace in Santiniketan, and took over the management of his family landholdings as well as working as a portraitist.
Miss Lalani Canekeratne, portrait 1949
He was a strong influence in the Colombo '43 Group, serving as its secretary. Ivan Peries was a pupil of his. He founded the Sapumal Foundation to which he bequeathed his home and art collection.[1][2][3]
^Goonetileke. "Birth anniversary of Harry Pieris : A life in art". Daily News. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
^A houseful of art, The Sunday Times, Retrieved 9 June 2015
^Sapumal Foundation Website, Retrieved 9 June 2015
for the best portrait in 1926, the portrait of his uncle, Sir James Pieris. Pieris returned to Ceylon in 1927, having gained a diploma from the Royal College...
Art Centre and its sole life-trustee. He is sometimes confused with HarryPieris, a cousin and contemporary, who was a member of the Colombo '43 Group...
bring together independent artists such as George Keyt, Ivan Peries, HarryPieris and Justin Daraniyagala, now recognised as among the best representatives...
leading painters, along with Ivan Peries, Justin Daraniyagala and HarryPieris. Keyt, Pieris and Lionel Wendt are also known for their efforts to popularise...
university degree. Photographer Lionel Wendt recommended HarryPieris as Ivan’s teacher. Harry Pieries became mentor and friend to Ivan. In 1941 Wendt...
native Governor of Ceylon (Acting). Born on 20 December 1856 to T Martinus Pieris and Apolonia de Soysa, a wealthy and a traditional ship-owning family, who...
Matthiola (stock) and the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress). Pieris rapae and other butterflies of the family Pieridae are some of the best-known...
Archived from the original on June 20, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017. Pieri, Kerri (October 2, 2015). "Alexander Wang's Love Note to Cali at Balenciaga"...
mythographer Apollodorus, tells us that Megapenthes' mother was a slave "Pieris, an Aetolian, or, according to Acusilaus, ... Tereis", and that Menelaus...
from the original on 29 January 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015. Kerry Pieri (4 January 2013). "Beauty diary: SK-II face Cate Blanchett". Harper's Bazaar...
Telegraph. London. 13 January 2005. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 3 May 2020. Pieri, Kerry (4 November 2011). "Supers Play Duran Duran in New Music Video and...
from the original on 25 February 2024. Retrieved 15 February 2024. Kerry Pieri (24 February 2019). "The 10 Best Dressed Celebrities at the 2019 Oscars"...
has a market capitalization of approximately USD 450 million. Deshamanya Harry Jayawardena is the Chairman of the company. Melstacorp PLC was originally...
9 August 2012 (2012-08-09) 1,685,000 Alex travels to Falmouth to help father-and-son team Harry and Mark with their 29 bedroom country house hotel that has been struggling...
them. Four hand-grenades were to be thrown by Gomez, myself, Orsini, and Pieri, respectively. … throwing my grenade right under the fore part of the carriage...
fighting in the Iliad. Nicostratus was a son of Menelaus by his concubine Pieris, an Aetolian slave. Megapenthes was a son of Menelaus by his concubine Tereis...
Johnny Carson, Gary Kroeger, Mike Myers, Bronson Pinchot, Penn Jillette, Harry Shearer, and others. Frank Zappa satirized the line in the song "Be in My...
from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 25, 2013. "Brown, Pieri Purchases Celtics Basketball Club". The Hartford Courant. August 1, 1950...
of Nebraska Press, ISBN 0-8032-8913-8] Ratnayeke, S., Van Manen, F. T., Pieris, R., & Pragash, V. S. (2014). Challenges of large carnivore conservation:...
Jaffna Library". Tamil Guardian. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2021. Anoma Pieris (25 October 2018). Sovereignty, Space and Civil War in Sri Lanka: Porous...
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