Francisco Victor Newton de Souza (12 April 1924 – 28 March 2002), better known as F. N. Souza, was an Indian artist of

modern Indian painting The modern Indian art movement in Indian painting is considered to have begun in Calcutta in the late nineteenth century. The old traditions of painting had more or less died out in Bengal and new schools of art were started by the British. Initi ...

, and a founding member of the Bombay Progressive Artists' Group. His style exhibited both decadence and primitivism.

Early life and education

Francisco Victor Newton de Souza was born to Goan Catholic parents in the village of Saligão, Portuguese Goa. After his father and then his elder sister died, he and his mother moved to

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, in 1929. Souza's mother remarried, and his half-brother was the painter Lancelot Ribeiro. Souza attended St. Xavier's College in Bombay, but he was expelled in 1939 for drawing obscene graffiti in the restrooms. He then studied at the Sir J. J. School of Art in Bombay but was also expelled from that school in 1945, because of pulling down the

Union Jack The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

flag during a school ceremony and participating in the Quit India Movement. Souza joined the

Communist Party of India The Communist Party of India (CPI) is a political party in India. The CPI considers the Foundation of the Communist Party of India, December 26, 1925 Cawnpore (Kanpur) conference as its foundation date. Between 1946 and 1951, the CPI led m ...

soon after, and co-founded the Bombay Progressive Artists' Group in 1947.

Move to London

In 1948, Souza's paintings were shown in London's

Burlington House Burlington House is a building on Piccadilly in Mayfair, London. It was originally a private English Baroque and then Neo-Palladian mansion owned by the Earl of Burlington, Earls of Burlington. It was significantly expanded in the mid-19th cent ...

as part of an exhibition on Indian Art. However, his work was attacked by the Goan community in

during an exhibition at Chemould Frames. Souza emigrated to London in 1949, following several complaints against him to the police from the Indian public for obscenity. He initially struggled to make an impact as an artist in the UK. His Goan wife Maria took on multiple jobs in order to support their family. The

Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an modernism, artistic and cultural centre on The Mall (London), The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps a ...

included his work in a 1954 exhibition. His success as an artist took off following the publication in 1955 of his autobiographical essay ''Nirvana of a Maggot'' in English poet

Stephen Spender Sir Stephen Harold Spender (28 February 1909 – 16 July 1995) was an English poet, novelist and essayist whose work concentrated on themes of social injustice and the class struggle. He was appointed U.S. Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry ...

's '' Encounter'' magazine. Spender introduced Souza to the British art dealer Victor Musgrave. Souza's 1955 exhibit at Musgrave's Gallery One sold out, leading to ongoing success. Souza was one of five artists on the UK shortlist for the 1958 Guggenheim International Award for his 1955 painting ''Birth''. In 1959, Souza published his autobiographical ''Words and Lines''. Souza's career developed steadily, and he participated in several shows, receiving positive reviews from English art critic

John Berger John Peter Berger ( ; 5 November 1926 – 2 January 2017) was an English art critic, novelist, painter and poet. His novel '' G.'' won the 1972 Booker Prize, and his essay on art criticism '' Ways of Seeing'', written as an accompaniment to t ...

. According to Berger, Souza's style "was deliberately eclectic: essentially Expressionist in character", but "also drawing on the post-war Art Brut movement and elements of British Neo-romanticism".

Reputation

The Indian artist, M.F. Husain, recognized Souza as his mentor. In recent years, Souza's paintings have been sold for over a million dollars. His painting ''Birth'' (1955) depicting his mistress Liselotte posing naked while pregnant with their first daughter Keren, set a world auction record in 2008 for the most expensive "Indian" painting sold till then when it was purchased by Tina Ambani for US$2.5 million (Rs 11.3 crore) at a

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...

auction. In 2015, the painting ''Birth'' was resold to Kiran Nadar at Christie's in New York, fetching more than US$4 million. In June 2010, Christie's held an auction of over 140 lots from the Souza estate. Many of Souza's works fetched very high prices, some several times Christie's estimates. At an auction of Souza's painting ''The Last Supper'' (1990) held by

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

in 2019, his former muse and fellow artist Nimisha Sharma interrupted the auction after the bidding had ended. She asked repeatedly who was the artist’s “+” in his signature for that painting. Observers later speculated it was her way of telling the art world that she had painted it along with him.

Personal life

Souza met a Goan fashion designer Maria Figueiredo in 1945. They married soon after and had a daughter together. In 1954, Souza met Liselotte Kristian Kohn, a married

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

actress and Progressive League member, with whom he began a relationship. They had three daughters together but they never got married: Souza remained married to Maria, while Liselotte remained married to Richard. They also aborted a pregnancy in 1959, Souza thereby being automatically excommunicated from the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Souza's relationship with Liselotte ended in 1961, with Liselotte alleging

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

. He divorced Maria in 1964 in order to marry the 16-year-old Barbara Zinkant. He and Barbara moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1967 and their son was born in 1971. Barbara divorced Souza in 1977 in order to marry her lover. Souza divided his time between India and the United States after his second divorce. He was in several relationships, including a young married woman from Bombay, and had sexual relationships with multiple prostitutes. The Indian artist and poet Srimati Lal was in a relationship with him from 1993 until his death. Souza's eldest daughter by his partner Liselotte Kristian is the British-Israeli painter Karen (Keren) Souza-Kohn. Karen's son is the British-Israeli street artist Solomon Souza, known best for his murals in the

Mahane Yehuda Market Mahane Yehuda Market (), often referred to as "The Shuk" (), is a marketplace (originally open-air, but now partially covered) in Jerusalem. Popular with locals and tourists alike, the market's more than 250 vendors sell fresh fruits and vegetable ...

. Anya Souza, his youngest daughter by Liselotte, was born with Down Syndrome and is a trustee of the Down Syndrome Association, known for speaking out against the 2003 International Down Syndrome Screening Conference at Regents College in London.

Death

Souza died on 28 March 2002 from a heart attack. Only a few people attended the funeral, none of them being his family members or members of Souza's Goan community. His remains were buried in Sewri Christian Cemetery in Mumbai.

Public collections

* Birmingham Museum of Art, UK *

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

, London, UK * Clifton Park Museum, Rotherham, UK *Glenbarra Art Museum, Himeji, Hyōgo, Japan * Haifa Museum, Israel * National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, India * National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia * Tate Gallery, London, UK *Progressive Art Gallery, New Delhi, India *

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

, London, UK * The Hepworth Wakefield Art Gallery, UK * Museum of Biblical Art (Dallas), Texas, USA * Sarmaya Arts Foundation, Fort, Mumbai.

References

External links

* (website on Souza by art critic Srimati Lal) * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Souza, Francis Newton 1924 births 2002 deaths St. Xavier's College, Mumbai alumni Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art alumni People from North Goa district Painters from Goa