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Lot 48

 

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"There are times when I wander in the streets late at night or in the early hours of the morning. I avoid being seen at such times because I get beside myself like a lunatic searching for Light, a Glimpse, a fleeting Revelation, a moment of Inspiration, Light, Light... in vain, in vain..."
- F N SOUZA

One of India's greatest Modernists, F N Souza catapulted to fame in the mid-1950s in post-war London. Painted in 1956, the... "There are times when I wander in the streets late at night or in the early hours of the morning. I avoid being seen at such times because I get beside myself like a lunatic searching for Light, a Glimpse, a fleeting Revelation, a moment of Inspiration, Light, Light... in vain, in vain..."
- F N SOUZA

One of India's greatest Modernists, F N Souza catapulted to fame in the mid-1950s in post-war London. Painted in 1956, the present lot belongs to this iconic period of the artist's career, depicting a bleak rendition of a London neighbourhood. Dominated by shades of black and red, it conveys an eerie stillness that emphasises a dark atmosphere. A whole room dedicated to Souza's works at the recent All Too Human show at the Tate placed Souza firmly in the spectrum of post-war artists including Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud, who addressed the unease of a society and world in turmoil. The catalogue note captures the essence of Souza's paintings from this period, such as the present lot. "Like his contemporary Francis Bacon, Francis Newton Souza painted powerful figures whose references spanned a wide range of sources, from early Renaissance paintings to photography, expressing feelings and anxieties of the postwar era as well as reflecting his own personal anguish. This room focuses on Souza's work from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s, at a time when he lived in London. The graphic power of Souza's lines produce simplified and bold images, while the thick oil paints applied liberally to the board or canvas, with swift strokes, give his work a sense of vitality and movement...Cityscapes, constructed from fragmented images and memories, are also important subjects and perhaps suggestive of Souza's cosmopolitan life and frequent travelling." ("F N Souza: Icons of a Modern World," All Too Human: Bacon, Freud and a Century of Painting Life, London: Tate, 28 February - 27 August 2018, p. 20, accessed on tate.org.uk, online)

Critic Edwin Mullins has written that Souza's landscapes were "often distorted to the point of destruction-houses no more than lopsided cubes...But they never threaten to dissolve into formalized abstract shapes. The violence and speed with which they are executed keep these images, however distorted, in touch with the painter's vision of what they really are." (Edwin Mullins, Souza, London: Anthony Blond Ltd., 1962, pp. 36, 38) With hints of Cubism and a dark, predominantly black palette, Souza conveys the mood and atmosphere in this sombre cityscape.

Souza's early years in London were punctuated by many hardships. This changed in 1954, when his works attracted the attention of Victor Musgrave, owner of a tiny gallery in Litchfield Street, the original Gallery One. The next year, Souza had his first solo exhibition at Gallery One, coinciding with the publication of his famous autobiographical essay "Nirvana of Maggot" in the literary magazine Encounter. The combination of the two brought Souza instant recognition, more or less overnight, according to Mullins.

In 1956, Souza found his first major patron, the wealthy American collector and hospital owner Harold Kovner. Having arrived from New York and looking for new artists in Paris, Kovner went to Gallery Iris Clert, but was unimpressed by their collection of abstracts. The eponymous gallery owner possessed several paintings by Souza, and showed them to Kovner with some reluctance. "Kovner jumped. Within 24 hours he had met Souza, given him money, taken away some pictures, made arrangements for the future, and was flying back to New York. The arrangement was a perfectly simple one. Souza was to keep him supplied with pictures every few months-entirely of the artist's choosing-and in return Kovner would keep him supplied with money." (Edwin Mullins, Souza, London: Anthony Blond Ltd., 1962, p. 26) The duration of this patronage, which lasted four years, was creatively and artistically the most energising period of Souza's career. Kovner's regular stipend relieved Souza of financial troubles, allowing him more freedom to paint than ever before. Kovner's support during this critical period was a time of unprecedented inventiveness for the artist. The present lot was part of Kovner's original collection of Souza paintings.

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