Francis Newton Souza: 1924–2002 mapinpub
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Francis Newton Souza: 1924–2002

Bridging Western and Indian Modern Art
Aziz Kurtha

Francis Newton Souza was a founder member of the Progressive Artists’ Group (PAG), largely responsible for shaping the Modern Art movement in India.

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Francis Newton Souza was a founder member of the Progressive Artists’ Group (PAG), largely responsible for shaping the Modern Art movement in India.
He went on to become a celebrated artist in Europe, following exhibitions in London in the 1950s. He was influenced by the traditional temple sculpture of India, even as he imbibed from the sensibilities of European Old Masters and Modern painters. He was ranked along with artists of the stature of Georges Rouault, Chaime Soutine, Graham Sutherland and even Pablo Picasso.

Souza was bitterly critical of his natal Catholic Church and the hypocrisy of its clergy. He sought to disturb accepted notions of aesthetics and jolt stereotypical perceptions about religion, sin, sensuality and a supposedly benevolent political order. His artistic talents, whether in oil painting, writing, or line drawing, remain utterly compelling.

Posthumously, his work has achieved further critical acclaim, and is avidly sought after in India, the UK and the USA. The Tate Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum of London own several of his works and have exhibited them from time to time.

The renowned Indian painter M F Husain paid a tribute by stating, “Souza was my mentor . . . he is the most significant painter, almost a genius”.

Aziz Kurtha is a practicing commercial lawyer who writes on, and collects contemporary art from the Indian subcontinent. He has co-authored with Balraj Khanna Art of Modern India published in 1998. Along with well-known Indian writer Khushwant Singh, he has edited a portfolio of drawings and verse by celebrated Pakistani artist, the late Sadequain. He has organized a number of exhibitions for important artists, including Francis Newton Souza as early as the 1970s.

He has also been a presenter for radio and television, having anchored the Eastern Eye series for over three years for Channel Four, UK.

Aziz Kurtha received his doctorate from the London School of Economics and works out of Dubai and London.

• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• I Origin and Influence
• II London, New York and the Subcontinent
• III Idiom and Expression
• IV Line and Language
• V Opinion and Appraisal
• Overview
• Endnotes
• Appendix: A Fragment of Autobiography
• Chronology
• Bibliography
• Index
• List of Plates
• Captions
ISBN 9788188204632
Pages 212
Number of photographs 196 colour and 60 b/w plates
Size 9 x 11" (229 x 280 mm), hc
Date of Publishing 2006
Language(s) English
Co-publisher(s) Mapin
Rights Available World rights

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