Important Notice

The present lot was painted in 1974, when Souza lived in New York. By this time, the artist had held several important exhibitions in England and the US, and had achieved success and recognition in the international art world. His earlier landscapes and cityscapes contained linear structures and dark and sombre tones delineated by bold, black lines. The present lot, perhaps a rendition of Central Park and the surrounding city, is a rare, joyful... The present lot was painted in 1974, when Souza lived in New York. By this time, the artist had held several important exhibitions in England and the US, and had achieved success and recognition in the international art world. His earlier landscapes and cityscapes contained linear structures and dark and sombre tones delineated by bold, black lines. The present lot, perhaps a rendition of Central Park and the surrounding city, is a rare, joyful departure into unrestrained gestural brushstrokes among a riot of bright colours.

There are no black lines here. The outlines of buildings are visible only in fragments, surrounded by a vibrant field of green and blue that is both, water and sky. According to art critic Geeta Kapur, "A huge cracker seems to go off in the foundations of his cities and the buildings begin to sway and tumble and lean against each other in frantic postures." (Geeta Kapur, "Devil in the Flesh," Contemporary Indian Artists, New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House, 1978, p. 30) This fiery and unbridled style of painting prompted critic Richard Bartholomew to write: "Souza can represent the essence of nature in a small, spontaneously assembled still-life or suggest in an equally small landscape the meaning of place and time... there is the brooding quiet and pristine freshness of dawn and night in the landscapes..." (quoted in Rati Bartholomew, Pablo Bartholomew, Carmen Kagal and Rosalyn D'Mello eds., Richard Bartholomew: The Art Critic, Noida: BART, 2012, p. 548)

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