Page 54 - Eye of the beholder

George Keyt for me epitomizes a truly global artist. A Ceylonese of Dutch origin, the bulk of his artistic training was in Shantiniketan. In his life as an independent artist, Keyt’s style went through some notable evolutions. His early works from the 50’s and 60’s had a realistic style, which gradually morphed into a figurative style with fluid lines, and subsequently became angular and heavily influenced by cubism. Irrespective of the change in style, his subject matter heavily borrowed from buddhist and Indian folklore – the Jataka tales and from Vaishnava mythology.
In India, Keyt is known and collected by a few discerning and well informed collectors. He does not have a mass appeal. Globally, his works are highly sought after by an international collector base. In Sri Lanka he is regarded as an artist of national fame and enjoys cult status.
I have liked Keyt’s works since the early 2000’s His
choice of themes (Indian), his choice of colors (stark), his choice of format (large), the tender eroticism – every element of his works appeals deeply to me. But his prices were always beyond my affordability. A seminal milestone of my collecting career would surely be the purchase of this work from a German auction in XXXX.
Keyt’s works have been going up in valuation steadily. A few pieces come up in auctions every year- and almost without exception, each one sells far above its estimates.
Keyt’s talents were not limited to the realms of arts only. His translations of the Vaishnav Padavalis along with the associated line drawings are beautiful pieces of work too.
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