The De Fonseka family has been closely involved with the modern art movement in Ceylon from the early years. In 1927, E. C. De Fonseka, a wealthy plumbago merchant of that time, invited the well known German painter Otto Scheinhammer to Ceylon, while on a trade visit to Germany. Otto visited Ceylon the same year and spent several months as his guest in his palatial house. (read separate story). The story below is about the work of Charles Winzer, who is credited with introducing the local population to modern art. Mudaliyar S. R. De Fonseka commissioned Winzer to paint some of the family members in the early years.
Charles Winzer is undoubtedly the father of modern art in Sri Lanka, and his work is popular and sought after by the art aficionados of Sri Lanka. Therefore when a few Winzer paintings became available recently (2019) on a London auction site, there was much interest from Sri Lankan buyers. What mattered more to the family was the availability of a painting of one of its family members among the lot on offer. The painting was of Henrietta De Fonseka, daughter in law of S. R. De Fonseka Snr (Mudaliyar), after whom De Fonseka Road is still named. Henrietta married his only son S. R. De Fonseka Jnr.
Another painting of similar vintage was held in a private collection in Sri Lanka. This was of Mudaliyar S. R. De Fonseka himself, in full ceremonial dress.
The paintings could have been commissioned by S. R. De Fonseka Snr most probably in the mid 1930s. While not much is known of the dates and circumstances, family members still remember the pictures hanging in the ancestral home ‘The Glades’. Built by S. R. De Fonseka Jnr, the magnificent house and the artefacts passed on to his son Errol De Fonseka. The paintings have been in the house till his death and the subsequent partitioning and sale of the Glades property around 2002. Not much is known of the paintings beyond that, until one appeared in the auction site of Sworders, fine art auctioneers of London. The paintings were subsequently acquired by a private Sri Lankan collector, and has now found a new home back in Sri Lanka.
Charles Freegrove Winzer
Charles Freegrove Winzer (1886-1940) was a printmaker, lithographer and painter who pioneered the development of the modern art movement in Ceylon. Born in London to a family of German origin, Winzer was educated in London and Warsaw. He spent his youth in Paris and was a contemporary of Picasso, Modigliani and a close friend of Matisse. During World War I, Winzer who was a member of French Red Cross, was arrested by the Germans and sent to the Ruhleben internment camp near Berlin where he spent almost 3 years as a prisoner of war. He painted and even exhibited his work while a prisoner.
In 1920, Winzer arrived in Ceylon as the Inspector of Art in the Education Department and went on to found the Ceylon Art Club in 1928. Through his painstaking commitment to art education, Winzer made a significant contribution in the evolution of modern art in Ceylon. In 1930, some of Winzer’s paintings were exhibited at the Beling and Keyt Exhibition in Colombo. In 1941, a year after his death, The Winzer Memorial Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings was held at the Colombo Art Gallery.
Reference:
- Auction details and information shared by family member
- ArtCeylon.com – https://www.artceylon.com/artist63.html
- ARCADIA – The home that lent it’s name to Arcadia Gardens. (Footnote 2)