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1. George Claessen

A Sri Lankan artist and poet whose art was characterised by his mystical outlook and beliefs. He was a founding member of the Colombo '43 Group. Claessen was born in Colombo and was a largely self-taught artist who began to paint professionally when, aged 29, he joined the Colombo Port Commission as a draughtsman. In 1943 Claessen was among the founding members of the Colombo '43 Group, who embranced modern European artistic forms over traditional Sri Lankan forms. During World War II the War Artists' Advisory Committee acquired a work by Claessen under a scheme for artworks by colonial artists. Claessen's painting was displayed at the National Gallery in 1945.
Posted 8 years ago