Francis Newton Souza (1924 - 2002)

Aziz Kurtha, Francis Newton Souza: Bridging Western and Indian Modern Art, Ahmedabad, 2006, p.81

Overall very good condition. Oil on masonite board and not canvas as stated in catalogue. Use of metallic paint not visible in catalogue illustration. Stronger contrast of colors than catalogue illustration.
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In 1954, "... Souza sent an autobiographical essay about Goa, titled 'Nirvana of a Maggot' to Stephen Spender, the editor of the recently founded [magazine] Encounter. Spender accepted it, and the piece was published the following year. He visited Souza, bought a painting and introduced him to Peter Watson, who was then organizing an exhibition for the Institute of Contemporary Arts ... He selected three paintings that were exhibited alongside works by Francis Bacon, Graham Sutherland, Henry Moore Ivon Hutchins and others. All three were sold. During the exhibition, Souza met Victor Musgrave, who ... offered to hold a one-man exhibition for him in February 1955, which coincided with the publication of his essay in Encounter, and made Souza an overnight success."  (Yashodhara Dalmia, The Making of Modern Indian Art: The Progressives, New Delhi, 2001, p.88)

Immortalizing Spender in the form of St. Stephen, Souza may be referring to Spender's metaphorical "martyrdom" after his resignation from Encounter in 1967, upon his discovering that the magazine was being covertly funded by the American CIA. Souza's figurative treatment of Spender in the current work utilizes the restricted, neutral palette which he revisits throughout his painting of the 1960s.