The ornithologist and entomologist GM Henry (1891 - 1983) provided the illustrations for several ornithological works, including the Guide to the Birds of Ceylon (1955).
Pearls to Painting is a compilation of extracts from his extensive memoirs. It contains the "Ceylon years" of Henry's autobiography, a narrative that describes not only the life and times of one of Sri Lanka's best-known naturalists, but also paints a vivid picture of life in colonial Ceylon in the first half of the 20th century.