F N Souza
(1924 - 2002)
The Herald
Dated 1961, The Herald comes from what is widely considered to have been the most prolific and successful phase in F N Souza's career. He had moved to England in 1949, and the freedom of being on new shores led to a time of great professional and personal enrichment. The next few decades were marked by work that synthesised Souza's learnings from classical Indian and Western art. His work till then already drew from the splendour of the...
Dated 1961, The Herald comes from what is widely considered to have been the most prolific and successful phase in F N Souza's career. He had moved to England in 1949, and the freedom of being on new shores led to a time of great professional and personal enrichment. The next few decades were marked by work that synthesised Souza's learnings from classical Indian and Western art. His work till then already drew from the splendour of the architecture and ceremonies of the Roman Catholic church, his near brush with death from an attack of small pox, the scenic beauty of his native Goa, and the poverty he witnessed in Bombay. In England, he accessed an even wider range of sources and referenced literature, art, artists and religions from many parts of the world. In his own words, "It's all very well to talk in metaphors about having one's roots in one's own country. But roots need water from clouds forming over distant seas; and from rivers having sources in different lands." The present lot is one of several paintings from the early 1960s when Souza painted figures and heads of Catholic saints, kings, and prophets. A herald was a messenger in medieval times and in Catholicism, is often an angel. In this painting, the figure has no markings of an angel and if he is indeed, a messenger, "Hark the herald," as the hymn goes, as he seems to bring news of Souza's own typically scathing views of humanity. The grimacing face is sharp and angular, with the gnashing teeth often seen in Souza's portraits. The long neck and rigid torso suggest an aura of royalty but also discomfort. Similar works from the early 1960s have, "The ability to capture both, the sorrow of emotional poverty and the soulless grandeur of inherited power, [which] was a remarkable feature of Souza's imagery of royalty in a bygone and Modern Indian Art, Ahmedabad: Mapin Publishing, 2006, p. 85) Uneasy is the head that wears the crown in the present lot. Painted with the confidence of an artist sure of his craft, The Herald is a significant work from Souza's finest phase, combining clear imagery with stark emotion. Gallery One played a significant role in Souza's rise as an artist. For nearly a decade, after his arrival in England, Souza struggled to make ends meet. But following the publication of his autobiography, Nirvana of a Maggot, in 1954, Souza gained fame. The following year he met poet, art critic and the owner of Gallery One, Victor Musgrave. Musgrave and Souza's interests coincided perfectly: Souza's art was iconoclastic, and Musgrave represented artists from outside the establishment. In 1955, Musgrave organised Souza's first solo exhibition. The exhibition was a sell-out and proved to be a turning point for both Souza and Gallery One. Subsequently, Musgrave held several successful shows showcasing the artist's work, which caught the attention of leading critics. Souza's solo exhibition in 1961, in which the present lot was exhibited, included nineteen portraits and landscapes, and was the "most impressive of all," according to his biographer, Edwin Mullins. In the same year, George Butcher, a respected art critic, wrote about Souza's importance as an artist living in London: "Behind Souza, on a rather profound level, stands a continuous tradition, dramatically renewed since the Independence of India, which has never been naturalistic or abstract. Souza's integrity to this tradition is also, surprisingly, his strength in the context of Western painting." (G M Butcher, "The Image and Souza," The Studio, Volume 162 No. 823, London: Longacre Press Pvt. Ltd., November 1961, p. 177) The period from the late 1950s through the 1960s was a time when Souza had come into his own as an artist and was able to consolidate influences from the East and the West to create his own unique identity in the art world.
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Lot
39
of
119
SUMMER ONLINE AUCTION
6-7 JUNE 2017
Estimate
$300,000 - 500,000
Rs 1,92,00,000 - 3,20,00,000
Winning Bid
$330,012
Rs 2,11,20,768
(Inclusive of Buyer's Premium)
USD payment only.
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ARTWORK DETAILS
F N Souza
The Herald
Signed and dated 'Souza 61' (upper right) and bearing Gallery One label (on the reverse)
1961
Oil on canvas
48 x 22.75 in (121.8 x 57.8 cm)
Provenance: Gallery One, London Property from a Private Collection, South America
EXHIBITED:F N Souza , London: Gallery One, 1961 PUBLISHED:F N Souza , London: Gallery One, 1961, p.10 (illustrated)
Category: Painting
Style: Figurative
ARTWORK SIZE:
Height of Figure: 6'