Exhibition and sale of ‘The Taprobane Collection’ this weekend

Art lovers and students of art are in for a rare treat this weekend as over a two-day period the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Shamil Pieris will be on view at the Nelung Art Centre, Hyde Park Corner. Entitled ‘The Taprobane Collection,’ the exhibition comprises a selection of work acquired over a period of 40 years, and will showcase primarily the work of the 43 Group and other artists, some of whom exhibited with the 43 Group. 

Art by Aubrey Collette, Richard Gabriel, George Keyt, Justin Daraniyagala, Ivan Peiris, George Beling, L. T. P. Manjusri, George Claessen, Harold Pieris, figurative and modern art, line drawings, wood cuts, and sculpture will be on view and available for purchase. The exhibition and sale of the work will be from 21 to 22 October and open to the public from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Many of the pieces of ‘The Taprobane Collection’ have been featured in a number of local and international exhibitions, and documented in a number of books featuring artists of Sri Lanka. The now famous 43 Group was led by photographer Lionel Wendt and the work of its key members is greatly coveted and highly collectible. Over the years, writers have described this Group as the first modernist, creative painters with free expression in Sri Lanka, drawing inspiration from locale, religious belief, and prominent European and Eastern artists of the time, yet expressing their own unique style. 

Other artists’ work on exhibit include Neville Weereratne, Laki Senanayake, Stanley Kirinde, Nalini Jayasuriya, G.S. Fernando,  Cora De Lang, Ramsay Ong, Ranjith Fernando, Donald Friend, Tissa Ranasinghe, S. Doraisamy, W.S. and N.L. De Mel, Dorothy Fernando, and Donald Ramanayake. 

In addition to the art, ‘The Taprobane Collection’ also includes a small selection of rare antiquarian maps and prints on Ceylon and “impossible to find” rare books on art and history including the much sought after book on George Keyt by Martin Russell (1950), Ceylon by Lionel Wendt, the landmark numbered first edition book on Art and Craft by Ananda Coomaraswamy (1908), the first-ever book in English on Ceylon by Robert Knox (1681), and other rare books.  

The exhibition and sale of ‘The Taprobane Collection’ is at the Nelung Art Centre and open to the public on 21 and 22 October.