F. N. Souza | |
|---|---|
 Souza in London, 1955 | |
| Born | Francisco Victor Newton de Souza (1924-04-12)12 April 1924 |
| Died | 28 March 2002(2002-03-28) (aged 77) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Burial place | Sewri Christian Cemetery |
| Nationality |
|
| Known for | Painting,Drawing |
| Notable work | Birth (1955) |
| Political party | Communist Party of India |
| Movement | Expressionism |
| Spouse | |
| Partner(s) | Liselotte Kristian (1954–1965) Srimati Lal (1993–2002) |
| Children | 5 |
| Relatives | Lancelot Ribeiro (half-brother) Solomon Souza (grandson) |
Francisco Victor Newton de Souza (12 April 1924 – 28 March 2002), better known asF. N. Souza, was an Indian artist ofmodern Indian painting, and a founding member of theBombay Progressive Artists' Group. His style exhibited bothdecadence andprimitivism.[1]
Francisco Victor Newton de Souza was born toGoan Catholic parents in the village ofSaligão,Portuguese Goa. After his father and then his elder sister died, he and his mother moved toBombay,British India, in 1929.[2] Souza's mother remarried, and his half-brother was the painterLancelot Ribeiro.[3]
Souza attendedSt. Xavier's College in Bombay, but he was expelled in 1939 for drawing obscene graffiti in the restrooms.[4][5]He then studied at theSir J. J. School of Art in Bombay but was also expelled from that school in 1945, because of pulling down theUnion Jack flag during a school ceremony and participating in theQuit India Movement.[5][6]Souza joined theCommunist Party of India soon after, and co-founded theBombay Progressive Artists' Group in 1947.[7]
In 1948, Souza's paintings were shown in London'sBurlington House as part of an exhibition on Indian Art. However, his work was attacked by theGoan community inBombay during an exhibition at Chemould Frames.[4] Souza emigrated to London in 1949, following several complaints against him to the police from the Indian public for obscenity.[8]
He initially struggled to make an impact as an artist in the UK.[8] His Goan wife Maria took on multiple jobs in order to support their family.[9] TheInstitute of Contemporary Arts included his work in a 1954 exhibition.
His success as an artist took off following the publication in 1955 of his autobiographical essayNirvana of a Maggot in English poetStephen Spender'sEncounter magazine.[10] Spender introduced Souza to the British art dealerVictor 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 1958Guggenheim International Award for his 1955 paintingBirth.[11]
In 1959, Souza published his autobiographicalWords and Lines.[12]
Souza's career developed steadily, and he participated in several shows, receiving positive reviews from English art criticJohn Berger. According to Berger, Souza's style "was deliberately eclectic: essentiallyExpressionist in character", but "also drawing on the post-warArt Brut movement and elements of BritishNeo-romanticism".[1]
The Indian artist,M.F. Husain, recognized Souza as his mentor.[13] In recent years, Souza's paintings have been sold for over a million dollars.[14] His paintingBirth (1955) depicting his mistress Liselotte posing naked while pregnant with their first daughter Keren,[6] set a world auction record in 2008 for the most expensive "Indian" painting sold till then when it was purchased byTina Ambani for US$2.5 million (Rs 11.3 crore) at aChristie's auction. In 2015, the paintingBirth was resold toKiran Nadar at Christie's in New York, fetching more than US$4 million.[15]
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.[16]
At an auction of Souza's paintingThe Last Supper (1990) held bySotheby's in 2019, his former muse and fellow artistNimisha 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.[17]
Souza met aGoan fashion designer Maria Figueiredo in 1945. They married soon after and had a daughter together.[9] In 1954, Souza met Liselotte Kristian Kohn, a marriedJewish actress andProgressive League member, with whom he began a relationship.[18][19] They had three daughters together but they never got married: Souza remained married to Maria, while Liselotte remained married to Richard.[13][18] They alsoaborted a pregnancy in 1959,[20] Souza thereby beingautomatically excommunicated from theCatholic Church.[21]
Souza's relationship with Liselotte ended in 1965,[18] with Liselotte allegingdomestic violence.[22] He divorced Maria in 1964 in order to marry the 16-year-old Barbara Zinkant. He and Barbara moved toNew York City in 1967 and their son was born in 1971. Barbara divorced Souza in 1977 in order to marry her lover.[23]
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.[24] The Indian artist and poetSrimati Lal was in a relationship with him from 1993 until his death.[25]
Souza's eldest daughter by his partner Liselotte Kristian is the British-Israeli painter Karen (Keren) Souza-Kohn.[13][18][26] Karen's son is the British-Israeli street artistSolomon Souza, known best for his murals in theMahane Yehuda Market.[27] Anya Souza, his youngest daughter by Liselotte,[18] was born withDown syndrome and is a trustee of the Down Syndrome Association, known for speaking out against the 2003 International Down Syndrome Screening Conference atRegents College in London.[28]
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'sGoan community. His remains were buried inSewri Christian Cemetery in Mumbai.[4][8]
She had an abortion in 1959, three babies in these conditions at the age of 40 was too much.
Francis continued with the violence and threats, he tried to deprive her first of home, then of the three girls. He turned off her water supply. She tried to adopt her three girls (she never married Francis) to keep them safe with her.Camden Council prevented her; Anya was in care of theMental Health Act because ofDown's Syndrome. Francis refused his permission for her to adopt.
Her other daughter Karen took art training and has been successful.
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