Harry Pieris

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.

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.

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.