Important Notice

The period between 1955 and 1961 saw Francis Newton Souza's rise to critical and commercial success. His autobiography Nirvana of a Maggot, was published in 1955, the same year he held his first one man show at Gallery One. From 1956 to 1960, he received a regular stipend from Harold Kovner, a wealthy American collector, in exchange for a regular supply of paintings. Empowered with greater artistic freedom, Souza created some of his best... The period between 1955 and 1961 saw Francis Newton Souza's rise to critical and commercial success. His autobiography Nirvana of a Maggot, was published in 1955, the same year he held his first one man show at Gallery One. From 1956 to 1960, he received a regular stipend from Harold Kovner, a wealthy American collector, in exchange for a regular supply of paintings. Empowered with greater artistic freedom, Souza created some of his best works during these years.

This lot is a fine example of Souza's prolific output. Made as a drawing on the reverse of an invitation card, it highlights Souza's versatility. Souza often experimented with surfaces and mediums. With oil paints and polyvinyl acetate, or chemical alterations on magazine paper, he transformed used and unused surfaces into cityscapes and figurative drawings. The present lot also offers insight into Souza's camaraderie with other migrants to England, whether artists, writers, poets, photographers or art dealers, and the solidarity that existed between them.

Gallery One was founded by Victor Musgrave in 1953. Musgrave was a poet and art dealer who launched the careers of several artists outside the art establishment, including Souza, who exhibited at Gallery One between 1955 and 1961. In the present lot, the figure could be a self-portrait on the reverse of an invitation to a group exhibition titled Winter Miscellany. The group exhibition was held between 19 January - 5 March 1959 and included paintings and sculptures by various artists.

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