Osian's Auction Catalogue Indian Modern and Contemporary Art | March 2008

34 18 F.N. Souza (1924 – 2002) Orange Grove - California S/d in English, t.l. ‘Souza 71’ Oil on canvas pasted on board, 1971 17.7 x 23.4 in (45.0 x 59.5 cm) INR 4,800,000 – 6,000,000 USD 120,000 – 150,000 16 F.N. Souza (1924 – 2002) Landscape in Red (Hampstead) S/d in English, t.r. ‘Souza 61’ Oil on canvas, 1961 19.2 x 34.3 in (48.7 x 87.0 cm) INR 8,000,000 – 10,000,000 USD 200,000 – 250,000 . 17 F.N. Souza (1924 – 2002) Female Nude S/d in Englsh ‘Souza 62’ t.l. Oil on canvas, 1962 34.0 x 29.0 in (86.5 x 73.5 cm) INR 6,400,000 – 7,200,000 USD 160,000 – 180,000 15 F.N. Souza (1924 – 2002) Baptism S/d in English ‘NEWTON 44’l.l Gouache on paper, 1944 43.2 x 30.0 in (109.7 x 76.2 cm) Condition Creases and tears in various corners of the painting INR 2,800,000 – 3,200,000 USD 70,000 – 80,000 FRANCIS NEWTON SOUZA SELECT WORKS FROM 1944 – 71 ‘Souza is an image-maker – like Rouault and Francis Bacon. His art lies in his power to strengthen the eye’s image of this world by distorting it, until it becomes merely the language by which his own mental images are expressed, and the common ground on which we may come to terms with them. For, although Souza is a figurative painter, nothing about his art is descriptive; there is no celebration of nature, no attempt to capture the effect of a sunset, no concern whatsoever with what is “particular” in life. Above all, there is nothing romantic about his paintings…. Edwin Mullins rpt. in F.N.Souza Kumar Gallery ExC 1961 ‘Souza is a child of this century – warts and all – but his head will just not bow. No wonder his figures look straight at you, unabashedly. No side glances or shifty looks for them. This same life attitude braces us here, in India, where only a few call a spade a spade. A manliness of manner being in very short supply.This is a quality for which one may well be penalized under a morality that abets in deviousness…Art such as Souza’s is not made by mere artistic efficiency. Instead the painter’s extraordinary general craft competence is, I think, made necessary by what makes him paint; an underlying sense of violent unease with his times.’ – Keshav Malik rpt. in Francis Newton Souza Selected Works from 1950-1999 Kumar Gallery ExC. 1999.