FRANCIS NEWTON SOUZA | Untitled (Head)

Collection of Mr. Ragnar Zedell, Sweden
Christie's New York, 20 September 2006, lot 24
Acquired from the above by current owner

Minor undulations are present across the surface along with a few scattered spots of paint loss. There are minor stains and areas of slight discolouration in the green and yellow pigment. The work is in good overall condition, as viewed.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

One of the greatest strengths of Souza's work is that he remained tirelessly experimental. The bold complex heads of the 1950s created with thick cross hatching become further distorted in the early 1960's to result in complex mutated forms. The artist states "I have created a new kind of face...I have drawn the physiognomy way beyond Picasso, in completely new terms. And I am still a figurative painter...He stumped them and the whole of the western world into a shambles. When you examine the face, the morphology, I am the only artist who has taken it a step further." (Y. Dalmia, 'A Passion for the Human Figure', The Making of Modern Indian Art: The Progressives, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2001, p. 94) Edwin Mullins compared Souza to Pablo Picasso stating, 'with his finest paintings …the concentrated passion with which they were created may seem to burn over the canvas, yet the nature of the passion is less easy to place. They are full of apparent contradictions: agony wit, pathos and satire, aggression and pity. Their impact is certain but few people are able to explain what has hit them. Like Picasso, too, his interventions have tended to be thought outrageous, because the imagination that created them was discovering something about the visual world which no one as yet understood or which everyone had forgotten.’ (E. Mullins, F. N. Souza, Anthony Blond, London, 1962, p. 37).