Francis Newton Souza
Encyclopedia
Francis Newton Souza commonly referred to as F. N. Souza, was an India
n artist. He was a founding member of the Progressive Artists' Group of Bombay, and was the first post-independence Indian artist to achieve high recognition in the West. According to The Times of India
Souza's expressionistic style sought to illustrate both low-life and high energy, "Be it the sluts or the suits, the seamy side of life or the steamy, the gnomish, pox-scarred boy from Goa who went on to become one of the first Indian artists to be feted in the salons of Europe, laid it bare."
to Roman Catholic parents, he lost his father when he was three months old. When he survived an attack of small-pox, which left him scarred, his grateful mother named him Francis after the patron saint of Goa, St Francis Xavier. His mother was a seamstress and one of Souza's better-known paintings was that of a sewing machine. He attended St. Xavier's College in Bombay, but was expelled for drawing graffiti in the loo. He claimed he was only correcting the original graffiti because it was so bad but the priests didn't buy that. He studied at the India's premier art school, Sir J. J. School of Art
, but was suspended in 1945 because of his support for the Quit India Movement
.
included work of his in a 1954 exhibition, and other shows followed. His literary talents also helped his career after the publication of the autobiographical work Nirvana of a Maggot in Encounter
, a journal then edited by Stephen Spender
. His book Words and Lines published 1959 cemented his literary reputation.
Souza's career developed steadily, and he participated in several shows, receiving positive reviews from John Berger
. His style was, as Berger pointed out, deliberately eclectic: essentially Expressionist
in character, but also drawing on the post-war Art Brut
movement and elements of British Neo-romanticism
. His work was often highly erotic. According to art historian Yashodhara Dalmia,
After 1967 he settled in New York
, but returned to India shortly before his death, Souza was laid to rest in Sewri
cemetery in Mumbai, in a quiet funeral on March 30, 2002.
In June 2010 Christie's held a seminal auction of over 140 lots from the Souza Estate. Again many of Souza's masterpieces fetched very high prices, some several times the Christie's estimates.
A purported 1963 painting by Souza appeared on the BBC Antiques Road Show in Feb 2009.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n artist. He was a founding member of the Progressive Artists' Group of Bombay, and was the first post-independence Indian artist to achieve high recognition in the West. According to The Times of India
The Times of India
The Times of India is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. TOI has the largest circulation among all English-language newspaper in the world, across all formats . It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd...
Souza's expressionistic style sought to illustrate both low-life and high energy, "Be it the sluts or the suits, the seamy side of life or the steamy, the gnomish, pox-scarred boy from Goa who went on to become one of the first Indian artists to be feted in the salons of Europe, laid it bare."
Early life and education
Born in village of Saligao, GoaGoa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
to Roman Catholic parents, he lost his father when he was three months old. When he survived an attack of small-pox, which left him scarred, his grateful mother named him Francis after the patron saint of Goa, St Francis Xavier. His mother was a seamstress and one of Souza's better-known paintings was that of a sewing machine. He attended St. Xavier's College in Bombay, but was expelled for drawing graffiti in the loo. He claimed he was only correcting the original graffiti because it was so bad but the priests didn't buy that. He studied at the India's premier art school, Sir J. J. School of Art
Sir J. J. School of Art
The Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy School of Art , is the oldest art institution in Mumbai, and is affiliated with the University of Mumbai...
, but was suspended in 1945 because of his support for the Quit India Movement
Quit India Movement
The Quit India Movement , or the August Movement was a civil disobedience movement launched in India in August 1942 in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for immediate independence. Gandhi hoped to bring the British government to the negotiating table...
.
Career
After this he founded the Bombay Progressive Artists' Group to encourage Indian artists to participate in the international avant-garde. However, in 1949, after India became independent, he left the country for London. In early 1950s he started getting recognition for his works at Gallery One, North London. The Institute of Contemporary ArtsInstitute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch...
included work of his in a 1954 exhibition, and other shows followed. His literary talents also helped his career after the publication of the autobiographical work Nirvana of a Maggot in Encounter
Encounter (magazine)
Encounter was a literary magazine, founded in 1953 by poet Stephen Spender and early neoconservative author Irving Kristol. The magazine ceased publication in 1991...
, a journal then edited by Stephen Spender
Stephen Spender
Sir Stephen Harold Spender CBE was an English poet, novelist and essayist who concentrated on themes of social injustice and the class struggle in his work...
. His book Words and Lines published 1959 cemented his literary reputation.
Souza's career developed steadily, and he participated in several shows, receiving positive reviews from John Berger
John Berger
John Peter Berger is an English art critic, novelist, painter and author. His novel G. won the 1972 Booker Prize, and his essay on art criticism Ways of Seeing, written as an accompaniment to a BBC series, is often used as a university text.-Education:Born in Hackney, London, England, Berger was...
. His style was, as Berger pointed out, deliberately eclectic: essentially Expressionist
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
in character, but also drawing on the post-war Art Brut
Outsider Art
The term outsider art was coined by art critic Roger Cardinal in 1972 as an English synonym for art brut , a label created by French artist Jean Dubuffet to describe art created outside the boundaries of official culture; Dubuffet focused particularly on art by insane-asylum inmates.While...
movement and elements of British Neo-romanticism
Neo-romanticism
The term neo-romanticism is used to cover a variety of movements in music, painting and architecture. It has been used with reference to very late 19th century and early 20th century composers such as Gustav Mahler particularly by Carl Dahlhaus who uses it as synonymous with late Romanticism...
. His work was often highly erotic. According to art historian Yashodhara Dalmia,
At the heart of Souza's creativity was the belief that society's destructive aspects shouldn't be suppressed, they should be aired and confronted. Be it the hypocrisy of the church, the corruption of the upper classes or the repression of sexuality in a country that has a Khajuraho, he was uncovering the underbelly of existence.
After 1967 he settled in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, but returned to India shortly before his death, Souza was laid to rest in Sewri
Sewri
Sewri is a suburb of Mumbai. It is also the name of a railway station on the Mumbai suburban railway.Neighbouring stations: Cotton Green, Wadala Road....
cemetery in Mumbai, in a quiet funeral on March 30, 2002.
Reputation
In recent years Souza's Paintings have been sold for over million dollars. In 2008, his painting Birth (1955) set a world auction record for the most expensive Indian painting sold till then by selling for $2.5 million (Rs 11.3 crore) at a Christie's auction. The buyer was the Harmony Arts Foundation run by Tina Ambani.In June 2010 Christie's held a seminal auction of over 140 lots from the Souza Estate. Again many of Souza's masterpieces fetched very high prices, some several times the Christie's estimates.
A purported 1963 painting by Souza appeared on the BBC Antiques Road Show in Feb 2009.
Public collections
- Birmingham Museum of ArtBirmingham Museum of ArtFounded in 1951, the Birmingham Museum of Art in Birmingham, Alabama today has one of the finest collections in the Southeast US, with more than 24,000 paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, and decorative arts representing a numerous diverse cultures, including Asian, European, American,...
, UK - British MuseumBritish MuseumThe British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, London, UK - Glenbarra Museum, Japan
- Haifa MuseumHaifa MuseumThe Haifa Museum of Art , established in 1951, is located in a historic building built in the 1930's in Wadi Nisnas, Downtown Haifa...
, Israel - National Gallery of Modern ArtNational Gallery of Modern ArtThe National Gallery of Modern Art is the leading Indian art gallery. The main museum at New Delhi was established on March 29, 1954 by the Government of India, with subsequent branches at Mumbai and Bangalore...
, New Delhi, India - National Gallery of VictoriaNational Gallery of VictoriaThe National Gallery of Victoria is an art gallery and museum in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest and the largest public art gallery in Australia. Since December 2003, NGV has operated across two sites...
, Melbourne, Australia - Tate GalleryTate GalleryThe Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
, London, UK - Victoria and Albert MuseumVictoria and Albert MuseumThe Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
, London, UK - Wakefield Art Gallery, UK
- The MBA - Museum of Biblical Art, Dallas, Texas, USA
External links
- Estate of F.N. Souza
- Francis Newton Souza --- paintings, drawings, and writings by F N Souza
- Biography of Souza
- Francis Newton Souza, National Gallery of Modern Art
- Remembering FN Souza
- F.N.Souza Paintings from the Pravin Khatau Estate Collection
- F.N.Souza - A Private Collection
- http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VENSTS8yMDEwLzA0LzEwI0FyMDI5MDA=&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom
See also
- Kurchi DasguptaKurchi DasguptaKurchi Dasgupta is an Indian painter, writer and translator. She currently lives in Kathmandu, Nepal, where, in April 2008, she was witness to the abolition of the monarchy which had reigned in Nepal for 240 years and the transformation of Nepal into a federal democratic state.-Background:Dasgupta...