F N Souza
(1924 - 2002)
Portrait of Husain
This portrait of Husain was made by Souza shortly after the formation of the Progressive Artists' Group. "Although the first exhibition of the Progressive Artists Group was held in 1949, in the then Bombay city, the group came formally into existence as early as 1947, in a meeting held on December 15, (which was reported in 'Blitz' dated Dec. 20 of that year)." (Ratan Parimoo and Nalini Bhagwat, "Progressive Artists Group of Bombay: An Overview,...
This portrait of Husain was made by Souza shortly after the formation of the Progressive Artists' Group. "Although the first exhibition of the Progressive Artists Group was held in 1949, in the then Bombay city, the group came formally into existence as early as 1947, in a meeting held on December 15, (which was reported in 'Blitz' dated Dec. 20 of that year)." (Ratan Parimoo and Nalini Bhagwat, "Progressive Artists Group of Bombay: An Overview, The Spirit of Late 1940s and Early 1950s", Art Etc. News and Views, January 2012, online) Husain painted a portrait of Souza at the same time, which was later exhibited at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai, in 1996, as part of the inaugural show, The Moderns. In 1948, the same year in which the present lot was painted, Souza and Husain visited the India Independence Exhibition at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. They were both strongly influenced by the Gupta sculptures on display. Along with Ara and Bakre, they also spent some time at the Baroda Art Museum. They continued to exchange ideas based on mutual interests in art even after the group disbanded, and resorted to an epistolary friendship when Souza left for England in 1949. In a letter written to all the members of the Progressive Artists' Group from London dated 21 August 1949, Souza thanks Husain for his letter, and calls him, "my best friend." (Ashok Vajpeyi ed., Geysers: Letters between Sayed Haider Raza & his Artist-Friends, The Raza Correspondence Vol. II, New Delhi: Vadehra Art Gallery, 2017, p. 15) The present lot reveals Souza's obvious respect for and camaraderie with Husain. Some of the techniques, such as the heavy black outlines, dark colour palette and thick application of paint, are characteristic of Souza's style. Yet the portrait has no evidence of Souza's angry, jagged lines, arrows and pock-marks, off ering a rare lack of criticism and an unusually respectful presentation of his subject. The light, happier palette is one that is sometimes glimpsed in some of Souza's landscapes, but not often seen when painting the human figure.
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Lot
5
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81
EVENING SALE | NEW DELHI, LIVE
21 SEPTEMBER 2017
Estimate
Rs 70,00,000 - 90,00,000
$111,115 - 142,860
Winning Bid
Rs 2,64,00,000
$419,048
(Inclusive of Buyer's Premium)
Import duty applicable
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ARTWORK DETAILS
F N Souza
Portrait of Husain
Signed and dated 'F.N. Souza 1948' and inscribed 'Portrait of Husain (on the reverse)
1948
Oil on board
35.25 x 23.5 in (89.5 x 59.7 cm)
PROVENANCE: From the personal collection of the artist Bonham's, London, 16 June 1999, lot 42 Property from an Important European Private Collection
Category: Painting
Style: Figurative
ARTWORK SIZE:
Height of Figure: 6'