Brief Garden and the house, so called because the property was bought with the proceeds of a well paid brief by the barrister father of Bevis Bawa, is altogether smaller and more intimate than Lunuganga, the home of his architect brother Geoffrey Bawa.   Here too however one sees an immense creative flair, both in the garden and it’s artefacts and in the paintings, sculpture and ceramics adorning the low, relatively modest house.  Many pieces in both the house and garden were created specifically for the property.  Timeless, charming and domestic, the house draws one in from the garden, which itself can best be described as both intimate and a series of green or wooded rooms that enclose one, until taking the path or steps to the next space, another vista or artefact is revealed.

 

Among the many pieces made for the house there are works by the Australian artist Donald Friend, who stayed at Brief for five years (1957-62).  These include the large mural depicting local life, which became badly damaged because of the hot and humid climate but has been restored

 

The creator of Brief, the 6′ 7″ tall Bevis Bawa (1909-1992) whose father died when he was only seventeen, came from a well connected family in Colombo.   Having had to leave school early, he trained as a planter on a family estate.  Later he joined the Ceylon Light Infantry and ultimately became ADC to four Governors General.  He inherited the property in 1949 and then began its transformation.