George Keyt

George Keyt (Sri Lanka, 1901-1993) Untitled , gouache and chalk on card,signed and dated '47 upper left, framed, 74.8 x58.8cm (29 7/16 x 23 1/8in). : Private US collection; acquired from Islamic and Indian Art ,Sotheby's, 25th April 1996, lot 314. Previously part of the privatecollection of Martin Russell who acquired the work directly fromthe artist.

George Keyt (Sri Lanka, 1901-1993) Girl with Mirror , oil on canvas, signedand dated '46 lower left, lables from Momart gallery in London andanother lable attesting to the provenance on the reverse of thestretcher, 85.7 x 62.2cm (33 3/4 x 241/2in). : Private US collection; acquired from Islamic and Indian Art ,Sotheby's, 25 April 1996, lot 318. Previously part of the privatecollection of Martin Russell who acquired the work directly fromthe artist. Martin Russell was in the British Army in Colombo and Kandy from1942-1945, when he was posted to Singapore after the Japanesesurrender. He began collecting works by Keyt and other Sri Lankanartists in Colombo in 1942. After he was stationed near Kandy heacquired a house in Sirimalwatte, near Keyt's house inAmunugama. On the request of Dr Mulk Raj Anand, the editor of the Bombay artmagazine Marg , Russell wrote a book on the artist who was atthe time living in Bombay, which was published in 1948. Russell lived in Sri Lanka and India from 1948 to 1953 when hereturned to England with his collection of paintings.

George Keyt (Sri Lanka, 1901-1993) Musicians , acrylic on canvas, signed and dated 1974 upper left, framed, 84.5 x 96cm (33 1/4 Musicians , acrylic on canvas, signed and dated 1974 upper left, framed, 84.5 x 96cm (33 1/4 x 37 13/16in). Estimate: $6,000 - 8,000, Dh22,000 - 29,000

George Keyt (1901-1993) Untitled (Six Dancers) all signed and dated 'G Keyt 47' (upper left or upper right) gouache and white chalk on paper 24¾ x 14¾ in. (62.7 x 37.7 cm.) each Executed in 1947 Set of six drawings (6) Provenance Gift from the artist to Barbara Buchanan Thence by descent to the present owners Lot Notes Barbara Buchanan worked as an editor for the Oxford University Press in Bombay in the early 1950s. It was through her work that she met George Keyt and they developed an intimate friendship, maintaining a life-long correspondence until Keyt's death in 1993. Post-Lot Text Barbara Buchanan, Bombay, circa 1953; photograph courtesy of the Family Archive

George Keyt (Sri Lanka, 1901-1993) Schoolteacher , oil on canvas, signed and dated '46 lower left, 85 x 62cm (33 7/16 x 24 7/16in). Footnote: Provenance: Private UK collection: acquired directly from the artist by the present owner when he visited his studio in Sirimalwatta circa 1964. On the suggestion of the owner the artist titled the painting Schoolteacher .