Francis Newton Souza was born Francisco Victor Newton de SouzatoGoan Catholic parents in the village of Saligão. After his father and then his elder sister passed away, he and his mother moved to Mumbai in 1929.[3] Souza's mother remarried, and his half-brother was the painter Lancelot Ribeiro.[4]
In 1948, Souza's paintings were shown in London's Burlington House as part of an exhibition on Indian Art. However, his work was attacked by the Goan community in Mumbai during an exhibition at Chemould Frames.[5] Souza emigrated to London in 1949, following several complaints against him to the police from the Indian public for obscenity.[9]
He initially struggled to make an impact as an artist in the UK.[9] His Goan wife Maria took on multiple jobs in order to support their family.[10] The Institute of Contemporary Arts included his work in a 1954 exhibition.
His success as an artist took off following the publication in 1955 of his autobiographical essay Nirvana of a MaggotinStephen Spender's Encounter magazine. Spender introduced Souza to the art dealer Victor Musgrave. Souza's 1955 exhibit at Musgrave's Gallery One sold out, leading to ongoing success. Souza was one of five artists on the UK shortlist for the 1958 Guggenheim International Award for his 1955 painting Birth.[11]
In 1959, Souza published his autobiographical Words and Lines.[12]
Souza's career developed steadily, and he participated in several shows, receiving positive reviews from John Berger. According to Berger, Souza's style "was deliberately eclectic: essentially Expressionist in character", but "also drawing on the post-war Art Brut movement and elements of British Neo-romanticism".[2]
The Indian artist, M.F. Husain, recognized F. N. Souza as his mentor.[13] In recent years, Souza's paintings have been sold for over a million dollars.[14] His painting Birth (1955) depicting his mistress Liselotte posing naked while pregnant with their first daughter Keren,[7] set a world auction record in 2008 for the most expensive "Indian" painting sold till then when it was purchased by Tina Ambani for US$2.5 million (Rs 11.3 crore) at a Christie's auction. In 2015, the painting Birth was resold to Kiran Nadar at Christie's in New York, fetching more than US$4 million.[15]
In June 2010 Christie's held an auction of over 140 lots from the Souza estate. Many of Souza's works fetched very high prices, some several times Christie's estimates.[16]
At an auction of Souza's painting The Last Supper (1990) held by Sotheby's in 2019, his former muse and fellow artist Nimisha Sharma interrupted the auction after the bidding had ended. She asked repeatedly who was the artist’s “+” in his signature for that painting. Observers later speculated it was her way of telling the art world that she had painted it along with him.[17]
Souza met a Goan fashion designer named Maria Figueiredo in 1945, they married soon after and had a daughter together.[10] In 1954 Souza met Liselotte Kristian (also surnamed Kohn, 1919–1990), a married Jewish actress and Progressive League member, who became his mistress.[18][19] They had three daughters together but they never got married: Souza remained married to Maria, while Liselotte remained married to her husband Richard.[13][18] They also aborted a pregnancy in 1959,[20] Souza thereby being automatically excommunicated from the Catholic Church.[21]
Souza's relationship with Liselotte ended in 1961,[18] with Liselotte alleging domestic violence.[22] He divorced Maria in 1964 in order to marry the 16-year-old Barbara Zinkant. He and Barbara moved to New York City in 1967 and their son was born in 1971. Barbara divorced Souza in 1977 in order to marry her lover.[1]
Souza divided his time between India and the United States after his second divorce. He had several mistresses (including a married young woman from Bombay) and visited several red light districts.[23] The Indian artist and poet Srimati Lal was his mistress from 1993 until his death.[24]
F. N. Souza died on 28 March 2002 from a heart attack and was buried in Sewri Christian Cemetery in Mumbai. Only a few people attended the funeral, none of them family members or members of Souza's Goan community.[5][9]
^ abD'Souza, Ornella (6 January 2019). "Born rebel". DNA India (newspaper). Archived from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
^[1]Archived 28 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine FN Souza’s ‘Birth’ sets new record, sold for $4 million at Christie’s New York auction. The Financial Express, 18 September 2015.
^Jackson, Milenka (June 1989). "Part 5". Liselotte Souza interviewed by Milenka Jackson. Living Memory of the Jewish Community (Audio recording summary). London: British Library. She had an abortion in 1959, three babies in these conditions at the age of 40 was too much.
^"Can. 1398". Code of Canon Law. Archived from the original on 3 February 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2008.
^Jackson, Milenka (June 1989). "Part 7". Liselotte Souza interviewed by Milenka Jackson. Living Memory of the Jewish Community (Audio recording summary). London: British Library. Francis continued with the violence and threats, he tried to deprive her first of home, then of the three girls. He turned off her water supply. She tried to adopt her three girls (she never married Francis) to keep them safe with her. Camden Council prevented her; Anya was in care of the Mental Health Act because of Down's Syndrome. Francis refused his permission for her to adopt.
^Jackson, Milenka (June 1989). "Part 9". Liselotte Souza interviewed by Milenka Jackson. Living Memory of the Jewish Community (Audio recording summary). London: British Library. Her other daughter Karen took art training and has been successful.