+ Expand
Artist or Maker: Souza, Francis Newton (1924-2002)
+ Expand
Provenance: Schuster Collection, Michigan
Acquired from the above by the present owner
+ Expand
Exhibited: London, Commonwealth Institute of Arts, Indian Painting Now, January 8 - February 7 1965, (ICA touring exhibition by the ICA; Newcastle Upon Tyne, Laing Art Gallery; Killmarnock, Dick Insitute; Darlington Art Gallery; Cardiff, National Museum of Wales; Aberdeen Art Gallery; Huddersfield Art Gallery), cat. no. 76, illustrated, unpaginated
London, Whitechapel Art Gallery, The Guggenheim Painting Award 1958: British Section No 7. Selected for submission to the International Award Jury
London, Gallery One, 1956
+ Expand
Literature: Indian Painting Now, Commonwealth Institute, London, January 8 - February 7 1965
+ Expand
Notes: Property from a Private Collection, United States
The founder of the Progressive Artists Group, Francis Newton Souza was an articulate genius whose artistic career spanned five decades and three continents. Characterised by his distinct powerful lines and bold, provocative compositions, his paintings are simultaneously imbued with a sense of raw energy and beauty.
Born in Goa, Souza moved to London in 1949, remaining there for almost two decades until he moved to New York, where he lived for the rest of his life. The mid-1950s saw the apex of his artistic career and Souza was considered among the most exciting painters in London. In 1955 Souza wrote his autobiographical essay, Nirvana of a Maggot, published by Stephen Spender in Encounter magazine. In the same year he had his first solo exhibition, at Gallery One in London. John Berger, the renowned art critic, devoted a whole article to this exhibition in the New Statesman, 25 February 1955, remarking that Souza 'straddles many traditions but serves none'. Souza had truly come into his own as he embarked on his most ambitious and fruitful artistic projects.
One can trace the brilliance in Souza's artistic development in the 1950s by calling upon examples such as the black Reclining Nude (1954), Birth (1955), the Nyasa Negress and Crucifixion (1959). Souza's paintings have obvious parallels with works by European artists such as Francis Bacon, Graham Sutherland, Pablo Picasso and Georges Rouault. His work was exhibited alongside Bacon's and Sutherland's as early as 1954. In 1958 he was one of five painters to have been invited to represent Great Britain in the Guggenheim International Award and Birth was selected for this submission. The other British artists in this show were Ben Nicholson, John Bratby, Terry Frost and Ceri Richards. The Tate Gallery acquired Crucifixion in 1993, and the Victoria and Albert Museum obtained the Black Nude for their collection, and in 2005 Souza became the only Indian artist to have a room dedicated to his works at Tate Britain.
Birth may be considered the pinnacle of all the artist's paintings of this period. With her eyes shut and her hand pressing against her hip, the mother focuses on the labour. She imbues a strength, peace and tranquility to her surroundings which is broken suddenly by the almost nervous gesture of the man/father seated next to her. Souza's contentious relationship with the Catholic Church surfaces in the form of this gesture. Unlike her, he is unsettled and awkward. Souza's own likeness to the man suggests that this painting may be autobiographical. The intimacy of the subject matter is enhanced by the colourful objects on the windowsill next to the bed, acting as a support group to the mother in labour. But the distant landscape seen through the window echoes the turbulent emotions of the man/father. The faceted structures in the landscape, boldly outlined, recall stained glass windows, and the corniced buildings and piercing steeples suggest the architecture of cathedrals. His most prominent subjects, including still life, landscape, nude and iconic figures, are all encapsulated in this one composition. Through tumultuous divorces and bankruptcy Souza retains Birth in his possession and brings it to America and later exhibits with the Schuster Gallery in Detroit. The culmination of this prolific and brilliant artist's career comes together in its entirety in Birth, embodying the essence of Souza in this monumental masterpiece, holding the promise of a new life, but not least the birth of a great master.
