Harold Peiris

Harold Peiris (1904–1988) was a Sri Lankan artist, lawyer, author, scholar, teacher and translator. He was the co-founder of the Lionel Wendt Art Centre and its sole life-trustee. He also established the Sapumal Foundation.

Born to a celebrated wealthy aristocratic family, he was the only son of Charles Peiris, the younger brother of the more famous Sir James Peiris and Maude de Mel, who was a sister of Sir Henry De Mel. He is a great grandson of Sir Charles Henry de Soysa. Educated at Royal College, Colombo and St. John's College, Cambridge, Harold graduated with a degree in law and became a Barrister at Lincoln's Inn.

In 1923, he joined the Royal Academy of London and obtained a Diploma in Art, where Sir William Rothenstein was one of his teachers. In 1926 he won the prize for the best portrait, one of his uncle, Sir James Pieris. Thereafter he spent six years in Paris where he befriended Henri Matisse and Henri Cartier-Bresson. Peiris became a teacher at Rabindranath Tagore's Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan before returning to Ceylon in 1935.

Pieris, Lionel Wendt, George Keyt, Ivan Peries, Justin Daraniyagala, Aubrey Collette, Richard Gabriel, Geoffrey Beling, George Claessen and L T P Manjusri Thero were original members of the Colombo '43 Group that laid the foundation of modern art in Sri Lanka. Lester James Peries became a latter associate of the group. Pieris, Wendt and Keyt are also known for their efforts to popularise Kandyan dance and other Sri Lankan dance forms.

Peiris was one of the co-founders of the Lionel Wendt Art Centre that was opened in 1953 in memory of artist Lionel Wendt. The second gallery of the center is named Harold Peiris Gallery in his honor. Fluent in several languages, including Pali, Sanskrit and Latin, he translated to Sinhalese the Gita Govinda in collaboration with George Keyt in 1940 and in collaboration with L.C. Van Geyzel, translated most of the poems and plays of Kālidāsa in 1961.

Harold Peiris married first in 1928 to Leah, daughter of S.W. Dassenaike, a retired Public Works Department engineer and a member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon and second to Alicia "Peggy" Keyt sister of the artist George Keyt in 1940. He also founded the Sapumal Foundation in 1974 and bequeathed his house and art collection to it. Several mansions that were once owned by his family were either gifted or acquired by prominent institutions of Colombo, including Bishop's College, Colombo, St Bridget's Convent, Colombo and the Durdans Hospital. The Nelung Arts Centre was founded by his niece Niloufer Pieris.