LOT 75
GEORGE KEYT
B. Sri Lanka, 1901-1993
Untitled, 1984
Acrylic on canvas
40 x 44 cm
Signed and dated “G.Keyt ‘84” on upper left
PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Sri Lanka
RM 30,000 – 75,000
George Keyt was a celebrated Sri Lankan modernist artist, born in Kandy in 1901. His distinctive visual language brought together influences from South Asian artistic traditions and European modernism, often expressed through stylised figures, bold contours and richly decorative compositions. In this Untitled work from 1984, Keyt presents a serene female figure accompanied by a vividly rendered bird, surrounded by flowing lines and patterned forms. The warm, expressive palette and flattened shapes create a strong decorative rhythm, while the close arrangement of the figures lends the composition an intimate and contemplative quality. The work reflects Keyt’s enduring interest in the human figure, symbolism and the blending of tradition with modernist expression.